Stolen Hearts Across Time
by Child of the Ancients
Summary: Pegasus's daughter comes to Domino to retreive his stolen eye, recruiting some help from both Yugi and Bakura in the process. Things become dangerous when a new enemy appears, and this one wants the new girl and her friends dead.
1. Default Chapter

Stolen Hearts Across Time 

Chapter One

Lily sighed as she looked over at her father. He was still weak, despite all her efforts to heal him. When some evil person had stolen his millennium eye, he had been badly hurt. After the theft, Croquet had called her, informing her of her father's condition. Of course, she had immediately rushed to Maximillian Pegasus's side and had healed him as best as she could. Her efforts had paid off after about six months. His condition was finally stable, thank Kami, but he was still not as well as he could be. He needed his millennium eye.

"Daddy..." she began, worry on her lovely face. "I need to leave you soon." She only called him 'daddy' when she was scared or nervous. At that moment, she was a little of both.

"I know," Pegasus replied with a faint smile.

"I've used some magic to track the eye to Domino. It's somewhere in that city, but I'm not exactly sure where," Lily informed him, taking his hand in hers and giving it a small squeeze. "I've already arranged for a helicopter to take me there in ten minutes."

"I suppose that you're going to visit your friend while you're there?" he wanted to know.

She nodded her head, curly blond hair spilling over her shoulders. "I've already sent him a letter, telling him that I'll call him once I get to town." A pleading look entered her teal eyes. "You don't mind me visiting him, do you?"

Pegasus softly chuckled. "I could never deny you anything," he replied. "You're my little angel." 

Smiling, Lily gave his hand another squeeze. "I love you, Daddy. Thank you." 

Croquet suddenly entered the room. "Mistress Lily, your helicopter is waiting." 

"Thank you, Croquet. I will be along in a minute," the girl answered, not even turning to look at the man. 

"As you wish." He bowed and left.

"It seems that you must go now," Maximillian commented sadly. He really didn't want to see his daughter go off on her own; however, he knew that he had to let her go eventually. 

"I'll return as soon as I can with the eye... promise," Lily replied, giving her father a gentle hug. "It's going to take some time and quite a bit of luck. Once I'm in the city, I'll have to physically search for it. I'll only sense the eye when I'm near it."

"I know." He returned the hug. "I'm not worried about that though. You're a thousand times more important."

"Oh, Daddy." She gave him a child-like kiss on the cheek. "I'll be fine."

"If you run into any trouble, then you contact Yugi-boy. Even though he doesn't like or trust me, he'll probably help you out. He's a do-gooder," Pegasus suggested. 

Lily laughed. "I was already thinking about contacting him. The princess wants to meet the pharaoh." 

"And what the princess wants, the princess gets," he stated, briefly closing his eyes and smiling. "Now, get going, Lily. I'll still be here when you come back."

"Promise?" she wanted to know, sticking out her right hand and extending only her pinkie. Pegasus linked his right pinkie with hers. "Promise." 

  


* * *

Lily dumped her two suitcases on the couch of her apartment. Croquet had been kind enough to escort her all the way to her new living quarters, but he hadn't stayed very long. She had ordered him to go back to her father's side.

_'Well, Princess, from here on out, we're on our own,' _the blond thought, raising her right wrist until it was level with her eyes. A golden bracelet dangled there, the small charms with Egyptian eye designs on them flashing in the light.

~_Not totally. Your friend Seto is here,_~ a musical voice responded in her head. Truthfully, the voice probably came from the bracelet, but Lily could never tell.

_'He's going to be a pain to contact though. He runs that big business...' _The teal-eyed girl picked her suitcases back up and dragged them to the bedroom, sighing at the sight of all the white walls. She hated plain, white walls. They were so boring.

_~It'll be fine. Just give him a call.~ _

_'I will... eventually. First, I want to walk around town for a while, see if I can at least try to locate the eye,' _Lily replied, beginning to unpack.

~_And the boy with the puzzle,~_ the princess added.

She sighed. _ 'Yes, we'll visit Yugi. He is the reincarnated pharaoh, after all.' _

_~I hope that he is no longer angry with me.~_

_'Why would he be angry with you?' _Lily couldn't imagine anyone being angry with the princess, least of all the pharaoh. The princess was a sweet person (albeit unpredictable at times), even though she had a nasty streak that revealed itself whenever they dueled.

~_I don't remember. All I can recall is that he was furious with me._~ 

_'I don't think that he's carried a grudge for five thousand years. It just doesn't seem likely. Besides, my father says that Yugi is a do-gooder. Do-gooders don't hold grudges for any length of time.' _ No one could house hostility towards a person for five thousand years. It just wasn't possible.

The princess was silent for a few minutes. _ ~Yes. I do remember that fact about Yugi.~_

_'How about I leave this unpacking for later? Let's walk while the sun's still out.' _Lily didn't wait for a response from her spirit; she just walked out of the apartment, locking the front door behind her. The only things she carried were money in her back shorts pocket and her deck in her front pocket.

Warm, summer air greeted her the instant she stepped outside, and the sun caressed her face with its cheery rays.

"This feels wonderful," Lily said, stretching her arms above her head, her tank top raising to reveal an inch of her well-toned stomach. "And Domino is such a pretty city." She admired the beautiful trees that appeared every so often, along with the vibrant colored flowers in window sills. The clean air was refreshing, especially after she had become so accustomed to the salty sea air at the castle. 

She began to walk around, silently conversing with the princess as she did so. Neither of them could sense the millennium eye; however, they both tried their hardest. Unfortunately, their efforts left them exhausted after a few hours.

~_We should head back to the apartment and rest,_~ the princess advised.

_'Not yet. I want to walk around some more and just enjoy myself,'_ Lily replied, mentally shaking her head at her resident spirit. "Ooooh, a Duel Monsters card shop." With a small smile on her face, she made her way over to the doors.

"Look out!" a blond teenager shouted as he ran out of the store, knocking the teal-eyed girl over. "Sorry!" he yelled over his shoulder before disappearing around the corner. 

The girl just shook her head and stood up, brushing herself off. _ 'Well, he was in a hurry.'_

"Coming through!" a brown-haired teen declared as he rushed out of the shop just like the last male. He knocked Lily back to the ground. "Sorry 'bout that!" Then, he ran into an alley and vanished from sight. 

"I'm almost afraid to get back up," the blond girl muttered, still sitting on the ground.

A young boy with blond, red, and black hair styled into lightning bolts walked out of the shop, his kind purple eyes immediately noticing her on the ground.

"My friends knocked you over, didn't they?" he asked, offering her a friendly hand. "I'm sorry about that. Here, let me help you up."

Lily took the hand. "Thank you, Yugi."

"You know me?" the young boy inquired as he pulled her up. 

"You're the winner from Duelist Kingdom and the Battle City Tournament," she replied with a kind smile. "Of course I know you. Who were the other two though? Do you know the blonde and brown-haired guy who came charging out of this store?"

Yugi nodded his head. "Yeah. They're my best friends. Joey was the blond, and Tristan was the other guy."

"Joey placed second at Duelist Kingdom if I remember correctly," Lily stated. "What were they rushing for?"

"I don't know. They said something about a supermodel at the nearby mall," the short male answered.

_'Dear Kami, that's just plain sad,' _she thought, fighting back the urge to roll her eyes.

~_I'd have to agree with you on that._~ The princess laughed. 

"Well, do you think that it's safe to enter the store?" The teal-eyed girl jerked her thumb in the direction of the card shop.

"It should be. My grandpa runs it," Yugi replied.

"And you help?" Lily inquired, earning a nod. "That's really sweet of you." She patted him on the head before walking into store, a surprised and confused reincarnated pharaoh following her.

"Hello. Can I help you with anything today, miss?" an old man asked from behind the check-out counter. His gray hair was styled into lightning bolts, much like Yugi's, and his purple eyes were similar as well.

"No, I'm just looking," she replied with a smile. _'This must be Yugi's grandfather. I can't believe Dad stole this man's soul. Poor guy.' _

The old man nodded his head. "If you need anything, just ask." 

"I will," Lily promised, beginning to walk around and admire all the cards. _ 'I remember helping Dad paint that one.'_ She picked up a trap card called Nightmare Wheel and smiled. _'I'd buy it if I already didn't have one at home.' _ Setting the card down, she looked at a few others.

Taking another look at the girl, the grandfather turned to his grandson. "You keep an eye on things. I'm going to go to the back and find a few things."

"Of course, Grandpa." Yugi went over to the girl. "Have you found anything you like?" he asked as he stopped to stand beside her.

She laughed, remembering that she owned many of the cards. "No, but thanks for asking."

_'Why did she laugh? I didn't say anything funny,' _Yugi thought.

~_There is something strange about this girl. I have the feeling that I know her from somewhere,_~ Yami replied. ~_I would like to speak with her directly.~_

_'Sure thing.' _ The small boy relinquished his body to the spirit within his puzzle.

"What is your name?" Yami asked her, causing her to turn and seriously look at him.

"Lily..." she answered, studying him. "You look different. Your voice is deeper, and you're most definitely taller." She paused. "You're the spirit, aren't you? The pharaoh?"

He blinked in surprise. _ 'I didn't expect her to figure things out so quickly.' _ "Yes, I am," he replied. 

The blond-haired girl smiled. "Well, it's very nice to meet you, Pharaoh," she stated. "So, I assume that you want to talk to me?"

The male nodded. "Yes, and call me Yami."

"Sure thing." Lily paused to briefly study a card. "You can begin asking me questions any time."

"You look familiar," Yami began. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

She shook her head. "Personally, I don't know you, but the princess does."

"The princess?" he repeated. _ 'I should know who she's talking about, but I just can't seem to remember.' _

Lily seemed surprised. "Don't you know her?" she inquired, teal eyes watching his violet ones.

"I know that I should, however..." The man drifted off. 

~_He doesn't remember me?_~ the princess thought, sounding shocked. ~_I didn't expect this.~_

_'You and I both,' _ the blond girl responded to her spirit.

"Can you tell me a little about this princess?" Yami wanted to know, curiosity in his voice. 

Lily nodded. "Yeah. She's a spirit that lives inside of me, much like you do with Yugi." She gave him a soft smile. "If I wasn't so weak, then I would have been able to sense you inside of Yugi; however, I used up all my energy earlier."

_'This girl becomes even stranger by the moment,' _Yami thought. "Can I talk to the princess directly?"

"No. She never takes over my body like you do with Yugi." She shook her head as she spoke, her golden curls briefly spilling over her shoulders before she tossed them back into place. "She just stays in my head and gives me advice and company." 

"Why?" He had never heard of a spirit not taking over their aibou's body before.

The girl shrugged. "She doesn't want to, and I see no reason to make her."

~_It is your body, not mine,_~ the princess added. ~_Tell him that please._~

Lily chuckled. "She says that it's my body and not hers."

_'That does make sense,' _Yami thought. "Well, how about you tell me the princess's name?"

She blinked. "I don't know it, and neither does she."

~_It's Tigrililian,_~ the princess suddenly said. ~_That's my name, Tigrililian... Lilian for short._~

"Okay... Forget about the princess not knowing her name. She remembers it now," Lily stated. "It's... Tigrililian."

"Tigrililian..." the pharaoh repeated. "She was called by a nickname, wasn't she?"

The teal-eyed girl clapped her hands in joy. "Oh good! You do remember her a little bit! Her nickname was Lilian."

Yami sighed. "I still can't quite recall any other information about her."

"That's okay. I'm sure that you will soon enough," Lily assured him.

"You're probably right." He nodded his head. "I am curious though... what are you doing in Domino?"

"I'm here to retrieve my father's millennium eye from the person who stole it," the blond-haired girl answered. "It's somewhere in this town. I just don't know where exactly."

Yami's jaw dropped. "You father's millennium eye?" he repeated. "But that would mean that Pegasus is your..." He shook his head, refusing to believe his ears.

Lily smiled. "Yes. It means that Maximillian Pegasus is my adoptive father."

  


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CotA: Okay, everyone who's reading this give a big hand to Sakura onto Hitomi, my excellent beta reader. :) Without her, I don't think this fic would have progressed beyond 500 words.

Sess-chan: You never know; it might have.

CotA: Oh, hush. You refused to help me on this, and Sigmund's been trying to give this story some kind of perverted twist, which I don't want. Thus, Sakura-chan has been helping me instead of you guys. *rolls eyes* And you're supposed to be my muses. Yeeesh. Well, people, please be nice and press the little purple button. 


	2. Chapter 2

Stolen Hearts Across Time

Chapter Two

Yami stared at Lily for a few minutes, eyes wide. "Adoptive father?" he repeated after a few moments. 

She nodded. "Yes. While he was traveling around, searching for a way to bring back his wife, he came across an orphanage. He found me there." A laugh bubbled forth from between her lips. "He said I had his wife's smile." 

"He adopted you because you reminded him of his dead wife?" The pharaoh frowned. 

"No. I was like... the child he had always wanted," the teal-eyed girl replied. "He still saw me as me, but he noticed his wife's smile in mine, and over time, I've picked up a few of Dad's traits. I make the same face as him when I taste something gross." She giggled. 

_'Pegasus adopted a girl. Who would have guessed,'_ Yami thought.

~_Yeah,_~ Yugi agreed. ~_That's pretty wild, but I don't remember seeing her at Duelist Kingdom. You'd think that she would have been there._~

_'Good point.' _ He mentally nodded his head at his aibou. "Lily, why weren't you at Duelist Kingdom?" 

Lily sighed sadly. "He sent me away while he held it, because he knew that I wouldn't approve of some of his methods to gain the millennium items." She gave him a weak smile. "Croquet told me about some of the things he put you and other duelists through, and I was planning on lecturing him until..." She drifted off.

"What happened?" Yami inquired, sounding concerned.

"Dad was sick, very sick. When someone ripped his eye out, he or she hurt him so badly." The girl shuddered. "Dad can't remember anything that happened or what the person looked like. All he knows was that his eye was stolen and the theft caused his illness. Over the course of a few months, I was able to heal him, but... he's still not doing so good. Dad needs his millennium eye back."

~Let's help her,~ Yugi thought to his spirit. ~_Bakura can use his ring to help locate the eye_.~ 

The pharaoh silently expressed his agreement. "I know someone who might be able to help."

Lily blinked in surprise. "Really? Who?" She watched the male's face, hope in her eyes. _ 'This is great! I didn't expect any help, but I'm not gonna complain.' _

~_I would not do so either. The pharaoh is a kind ruler... until you do something he dislikes_,~ the princess, Lilian, added.

"I have a friend named Ryou Bakura who possess the millennium ring. He can use it to point the way to the other millennium items," Yami answered.

A bright smile lit up her face, and she impulsively hugged him. "Thank you! Thank you so much!" she exclaimed as she released him, noticing the slight blush on his face. 

_'You can take over now, Yugi,_' the spirit stated, releasing his hold on the body. 

Lily watched as her conversation partner shrunk a few inches and his face turned more boyish. "You're Yugi again, aren't you?"

He nodded. "Yeah. If you want me to give Bakura a call now, I can."

"Really? That'd be great!" She paused. "You don't have to though. I can find the item on my own if need be."

"Don't worry about it. I'll even help you search when I'm not assisting Grandpa in the shop," Yugi offered, walking over to get the phone that was behind the counter.

Lily watched the boy as he dialed a number and talked to someone for a few minutes, anxiety on her face. _'If Bakura helps us, then we'll be able to find the eye so much faster; and the sooner we find it, the better.' _

~_Your father will survive even if we don't find the eye. It would be better for him if he did have it back, but he won't die_,~ Tigrililian reminded her aibou.

_'But I want Dad healthy again,'_ she protested, mentally frowning at her spirit. _'So we need to find that item.' _

"I have good news," Yugi stated as he hung up the phone. "After I told Bakura that you're looking for the eye, he volunteered to help. He said that he'd be over here in about ten minutes or so." 

"Yea!" Lily jumped for joy, literally. "If I find the item today, then I can get it to Dad by tomorrow!" 

"What has gotten the girl so excited?" Mr. Moto inquired, coming back out into the shop. "Something obviously made her very happy." 

She turned her smile on the old man. "Yugi has been a great help!" 

"Oh, he has, huh? Well, I'm very proud of him then." Yugi's grandfather went to stand behind the counter. "And what did he help you with?"

"He found someone who can help me locate a possession that was stolen from my dad," Lily answered. "And he has offered to help me search as well."

"What was stolen?" Mr. Moto frowned slightly.

"His millennium eye," the girl informed him. 

The old man almost had a heart attack, his mind easily connecting the dots. "Pegasus is your father?" 

"Adoptive," Yugi added.

"That man stole my soul!" the gray-haired man exclaimed.

Lily winced. "I know, and I'm very sorry that I wasn't there to stop him from doing so. Dad sent me away though..." She drifted off and gave a small sigh. "I wish that he hadn't done that to you." 

Both of the Motos did a double-take. "You're... apologizing?" Yugi asked, sounding surprised. 

"Well, yes. Dad did something wrong," the teal-eyed female responded, voice kind. "Aren't you suppose to apologize when someone does something wrong?"

"Yes, but... you weren't the one who committed the crime," Mr. Moto told her. "So you don't need to say that you're sorry." 

"Oh... okay." Lily went back to looking at the cards.

Everyone was quiet for a while until Yugi decided to break the silence. "If your father is the guy who created Duel Monsters, why are you in here looking at cards? Don't you have most, if not all, of them back home?" 

The girl nodded her head. "I do have many of them, but there are quite a few that I do not own. Dad let me pick out my favorites, as he did the same, and then he sold the others." 

"I understand now," the short boy commented.

"Understand what?" a voice asked in a British accent as the front door to the shop opened. A boy with shockingly white hair walked over to the other two teens. He was dressed in a pair of jeans and a simple button-down shirt. Brown eyes surveyed his surroundings, kindness in their dark depths.

"Oh, hello, Bakura," Yugi greeted his friend. "We were just talking about some things."

Lily stuck out her hand. "Bakura, it's very nice to meet you. I'm Lily."

The white-haired boy took her hand, giving it a polite shake before quickly releasing it. "Likewise."

"Thank you for offering to help. I really appreciate it," she added with a bright smile.

Bakura nodded. "It's no problem at all." He paused, then continued. "Shall we be going now?"

"Yeah, sure thing." Lily gave Yugi a quick, friendly hug. "Thanks, Yugi! I'll see you later." Then, she was out the door and heading down the street. 

_'Where should we search first? Perhaps I should ask Bakura.' _she thought, suddenly stopping and turning around. Bakura rammed right into her, knocking her to the ground. The white-haired boy was lucky; he didn't fall.

The blonde sighed, looking up at the sky. "Is this some kind of hint that I should go home?" she demanded of the air around her.

"Perhaps it's a hint that you should be more careful," Bakura said, offering her a hand; she accepted it, feeling a pleasant shock go through her at the touch of their hands. Neither of them had felt the shock the first time that they had touched, but both had felt it the second time. "I wasn't expecting you to stop right then." He pulled her up into a standing position, dropping her hand as soon as he was able.

"I wasn't planning on it either," she added, dusting herself off.

~_That felt strangely familiar,_~ Lilian commented. ~_I feel like I might know this Bakura_.~

_'How?'_ the girl asked her spirit.

The princess shrugged. ~_I don't have a clue._~

~_I know her,_~ Yami Bakura thought to his aibou. ~_This girl... I know her._~ Without giving his hikari any warning, he took over the body. 

"Lilian...?" Bakura asked, mentally frowning when he was unable to figure out how he had known that name.

Lily blinked in surprise. "What did you just call me?"

The male shook his head, white hair falling about his shoulders. "Nothing. Never mind. Let's begin searching." He walked off, his millennium ring appearing around his neck. _'I have to keep her away from my apartment and on a wild goose chase. The eye is mine!' _

Jogging to catch up, the teal-eyed girl watched him operate the ring, curiosity on her face. _'Interesting. The dangling triangles on the thing point in which direction he is supposed to go. It'd be nice if the bracelet could do that.' _

~_We still have the better end of the bargain,_~ Tigrililian reminded her aibou. ~_We can heal... among other things. No one else can make a claim to that._~

_'I know. It's just... it'd be easier if we could locate the eye on our own. I like having help, but I don't want to intrude on anyone's life,' _Lily commented with a silent sigh as she followed Bakura down a few streets. 

_'Wait a minute...I sense a millennium item, and it's not mine or anyone else's that I know. Who's is it?' _Yami Bakura wondered, focusing his ring on locating the new item. _ 'Something is going on.' _

The blonde was surprised when her partner began to pick up the pace, making it so she had to walk twice as fast. "Have you located it?" she asked hopefully. 

"My ring is leading me towards something," he replied, keeping his brown eyes on his ring and where he was walking. After a few moments, he frowned, sensing the new item begin to move. Someone was carrying it away... and at a high speed.

Trying to keep up with the signal, Yami Bakura began to run, Lily on his heels. He raced through alleyways and side streets, dodging people with amazing skill.

Suddenly, the signal terminated, leaving him in alleyway with a dead end. He cursed his bad luck. _ 'This person knew I was after him.' _ He turned his brown eyes on the girl. _ 'Perhaps she knows something about this.' _

"Lily..." Yami Bakura drifted off, trying to think of the best way to word the question. "Is it possible for the person who stole your father's eye to have more than one item?" 

Teal eyes filled with confusion. "I don't know actually, but I hope not." She gave a sigh. "We might need to finish the search tomorrow." She tucked some of her hair behind her ear, the golden charms on her bracelet clinking.

The white-haired boy noticed. _ 'She has an item... I don't believe it. This is almost too good to be true. I can steal it from her just like I stole her father's.' _ For some reason or another, that idea did not appeal to him as much as he had thought it would.

"I'll walk you home," Yami Bakura offered politely, acting like his aibou would.

"That's very sweet of you, but there's really no need." Lily smiled sweetly at him. "I'm sure that I can find my way on my own."

"Neither of you are going anywhere," a man said darkly as he slinked into the alleyway, blocking the exit. He held a knife in his hands, twirling it expertly as the beads in his many braids clinked with his movements. "You're on Shark territory, and you're gonna pay for that."

"A gang member," the blond girl whispered, eyes wide with surprise. _ 'What in the world am I supposed to do now? I've never been in a situation like this!' _

~_I suggest that we trust Bakura,_~ Lilian stated. 

_'He doesn't look like he could hurt a fly!' _Lily protested.

~_I'm not sure why, but I know that he is more than what he appears to be.~ _

The young girl rolled her eyes. _'Could you possibly be any more cryptic?' _

~_I'm just as lost as you,_~ the princess replied. ~_I'm telling you everything I know.~_

"I suggest you get lost before you regret it," Yami Bakura ordered, voice suddenly dark, causing Lily to stare at him in surprise. "You have no idea who you're up against." 

"I don't, huh?" The gangster chuckled. "It looks like I'm up against a little girl and her wimpy boyfriend." 

"I am not little!" Lily declared, tone laced with annoyance. She hated being called little.

_'She has quite a bit of courage for a girl. Strange,' _Yami Bakura mused, suddenly finding her much more intriguing than before. He sunk into a fighting stance as he glared at the other male. "You want me, come and get me."

  


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Sakura onto Hitomi: *hugs Sakura-chan* thanks for telling people about my story! I really appreciate it. *jumps up and down* It's not as good as yours, but then, I didn't expect it to.

Elen Liste Alda: I believe i gave you my answer.

Icy AngelWings: I'll check them out as soon as I have time. I'm kinda pressed at the moment. 


	3. Chapter 3

Stolen Hearts Across Time 

Chapter Three

"So you look like you can fist fight. Big deal," the gangster commented with a small shrug. "I bet you can't land a single hit on me... and I have a knife." An evil glint in his eyes, he lunged at Yami Bakura, the small blade pointed at the white-haired boy.

Yami Bakura easily dodged the attack, maneuvering to the side and slamming one of his fists into the man's chest. Before the attacker could recover, the white-haired boy delivered a series of quick kicks and punches that left the gangster helpless. Enjoying the sound of the man's pain-filled gasps, he grabbed the knife from the male and began to cut the gangster's chest open with small jerks of the weapon.

"I told you that you'd regret it," he stated, tone dark. _ 'Stupid, foolish worm. He should have ran when I gave him the chance.' _

"Bakura!" Lily shouted, eyes wide with shock. She was not used to such violence. "Enough, please! Leave him alone. You've proven your point."

"He attacked us first," Yami Bakura explained nonchalantly, driving the knife into the man's chest even harder.

The blond shook her head in disbelief. "Does that give you the right to stoop to his level?" Without waiting for an answer, she placed her hands over his so she could pull out the knife, quickly jerking them back when she felt a magical jolt go through her fingers. "You're a spirit." 

"How do you...?" He frowned at her as he pulled the knife out of the other man, letting the wounded male fall to the ground, unconscious. _ 'She could be a problem. I might have to kill her.' _

"I'll tell you later," she answered, dropping down to the ground to place her hands an inch above the gangster's bleeding chest. Concentrating hard and using what little power she had available, she began to heal him. 

Yami Bakura watched the girl, surprise on his face. _ 'She can heal people. I can't remember who, but I think I knew someone who could do that as well. I don't know why I can't remember, but I intend to find out who that person was. They might be connected somehow.' _ He watched the wound partially close, Lily pulling away from the unconscious body with an ashen face. She had over-exerted herself, and the injury wasn't even fully healed; however, the man would probably live to see another day.

"I need to get home," she whispered, weakly standing up. "Is the offer to walk me there still open?" 

_'I nearly killed a guy right in front of her; yet, she still trusts me enough to accept my help. She's either very brave or very foolish,' _he thought, nodding his head at her as he dropped the knife and wiped his hands on his jeans. "You have to explain how you knew what I was on the way there." 

Lily gave him a small smile. "I do, don't I?" She began to walk out of the alley, yawning once. "And I still have some calls to make tonight on top of that." She didn't give the gangster's safety another thought. After all, he had tried to kill her. 

"Explanations first," Yami Bakura demanded, coming up to walk beside her. 

"Very well. I have a spirit myself. She was the princess back in Egypt a long time ago," she said calmly. "She doesn't remember much, and one of the things she couldn't remember until today was her name." 

He watched the girl's face with expertly hidden interest. "What's her name?" 

"Tigrililian." Lily chuckled softly. "It's such a mouthful, so she goes by Lilian." _ 'I know I should be worried about my safety around him, but I'm not. Why?' _

~_I trust him, and since I do, you do as well,_~ Lilian reminded her aibou. ~_He isn't going to hurt us._~ 

_'Yes, but... he could have killed that guy,' _the girl mused, mentally frowning. 

~_But he didn't, did he? He could have easily killed us as well, but he didn't do that either._~ 

_'That's true.' _

"Lilian..." Yami Bakura repeated, trying to figure out how he had known that name earlier. _ 'There is something about this girl...' _

The teal-eyed girl yawned again. "So, since you're the spirit, what am I supposed to call you?" 

"Bakura," he answered simply.

"Then what should I call your aibou?" she wanted to know.

The white-haired boy shrugged. "Bakura."

Lily raised an eyebrow at that. "That's just plain confusing. Do you think he'd mind if I called him Ryou?"

"I really don't care what you call him," he retorted. "He's not that important to me." He paused. "Now, where do you live?"

"In an apartment complex on Oak Street," she informed him. "Oh, and Bakura?"

"What is it now?" the brown-eyed boy growled out. _ 'Does she ever stop asking questions?' _

"Thanks for helping me out back there. You probably could have left me at the gangster's mercy, but you didn't. I appreciate that." Lily smiled at him, eyes sparkling with kindness. 

_'I actually could have done that, but why didn't I?' _Bakura mused. _'I haven't gone soft, thus there must be some other reason. Is this girl just so interesting that I don't want her dead yet? No. I probably thought I could use her later, then steal the bracelet she wears. Yes, that's it.' _

"Bakura?" She lightly touched his hand, feeling the familiar jolt that told her that he was a spirit. She didn't jerk her hand away, which surprised the male. "How far away is Oak Street?" 

"A few more blocks," he responded gruffly.

"Do you have any more questions for me?" Lily inquired.

He nodded. "Yes. Where'd you get the bracelet?" 

She fingered one of the charms as she continued to follow the white-haired boy down the street. "Shadi gave it to me." She sighed. "Although I really wish that it had come with an instruction manual." 

_'Strange girl,' _Bakura thought, mentally shaking his head. _ 'I don't understand her at all.' _

They walked in silence for a while until Lily pointed at a tall building. 

"There's where I live," She stated, giving the male a quick hug. "Thanks for walking me home. Are we searching for the eye again? Say... tomorrow maybe?" 

He shrugged. _ 'I have to do something to keep her from looking for it on her own.' _"Sure. I'll meet you back at Yugi's game shop after lunch."

"Thanks again." Giving him another smile, she raced off into the building. 

  


* * *

Lily closed the apartment door behind her and plopped down on the couch, giving a sigh. _ 'This has been the strangest day I have ever had.' _

~_Yes, I know. At least we survived,_~ the princess said softly.

_'Yeah, thanks to Bakura,' _she replied. _ 'And that reminds me... we need to have a face-to-face chat.' _ Shutting her eyes, the girl allowed herself to drift off into her soul room. 

  


* * *

Lily's soul room was almost exactly like her one back home, stuffed animals cluttering the shelves along with books and CDs. A cream-colored carpet that matched the walls covered the floor, contrasting sharply against the dark purple in her bedspread and decorations.

"Hey, Lilian!" she called out, heading towards the door. When there was no response, she walked across the hallway and into her spirit's soul room. "Princess?"

"I'm here," a musical voice called back from a pile of pillows. The beautiful woman was seated on a large, violet feather pillow, her tight white dress with its wide neckline flowing about her. Golden pins adorned her hair, and gold rings were on her fingers and toes. She wore nothing around her neck. 

Lily sat down by the princess, once again admiring the Egyptian set up. The room looked like it was made for royalty, especially with the gold decorations on the walls. "Lilian, I'm confused about Bakura." 

"I know," the princess responded, long blond hair flowing down her back and over the pillows. Teal eyes stared into identical teal ones as she gave her hikari a soft smile. "He confused me once too."

"So you remember something about him?" Hope lit up her eyes.

The spirit shook her head. "No, not exactly. Bakura was a... tomb robber in the past. At least, I think he was."

Frowning, Lily tugged on one of her golden tresses. "How did you meet him then? If you were a princess, then surely you would never have met a tomb robber."

"I... think we ran into each other... literally," Lilian answered, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"At least you're remembering things now. That's better than your past staying a mystery," the young girl stated. "But Bakura is... strange. His aibou is polite--he helped me up after I fell. The spirit is darker. I could sense it when I touched him; yet... I could feel a small light in the center of all the darkness, and the light wasn't from his hikari."

The princess sighed softly. "That light was uncovered once, but I don't recall how it was done or who did it." She gracefully stood up to walk towards the small pool near the center of the room. "Come here." The girl did as she was told. "Look down there." The spirit gestured to the surface of the water. 

An image shimmered on the surface. "Bakura..." Lily whispered. The white-haired boy was dressed in old-fashioned, Egyptian clothes, but it was most definitely him. "Is this one of your memories?" The princess nodded. "Where did you see him?"

"I don't know, but this is all I can recall." The royal female pointed to the water with a sigh, and the vision vanished. "I don't remember much about the pharaoh either." An image of Yami on a golden thrown appeared, the picture rippling with the small waves.

"Why do you trust Bakura if he's a tomb raider?" the young girl wanted to know, tone curious.

Tigrililian shrugged, the image of Yami disappearing. "I can't answer that question either. I just know that I do." She paused. "You trust him as well, even though you don't know exactly why."

It was Lily's turn to sigh. "I know, and it doesn't make any sense to me. I don't understand him at all." 

"That's fine. We don't need to understand him; we merely need to know that we can trust him," the princess replied, and then she smiled. "Besides, he's cute."

The young girl stared at her spirit in shock. "You did not just say that," she stated, shaking her head. "There's no way you just said that."

"Why not? It's the truth." Lilian giggled like a teenager. "Actually, I believe that was my initial thought when I saw the tomb robber for the first time."

Lily's jaw dropped. "I don't believe you can talk like that. What happened to the wise princess who always helped me duel?"

"I'm still here; you've merely seen a different side to me," the spirit replied. "Besides, I know that you agree with me. Ryou Bakura is very cute."

"I'm having a girl chat with a five-thousand-year-old spirit," the hikari commented, dipping her fingers into the warm water. "How messed up is that?" 

The princess laughed. "It is not as bad as you think. Besides, talking with a spirit is better than talking with yourself, don't you agree?" 

"Yeah," she answered, nodding her head. "But it's still messed up."

"Perhaps a little," Tigrililian admitted.

Lily sighed. "Princess, why don't I look exactly like you? Yugi is almost a perfect carbon copy of Yami, even though he looks younger. Ryou and Bakura look exactly alike, but we don't. I look younger than you, and your hair's straight while mine is curly. You're so much prettier than me too."

The spirit shook her head. "No, I'm not prettier," she said softly, a gentle expression on her face. "I'm sorry you think so." She gave her aibou a sisterly kiss on the forehead. "You look younger than me because you are younger; however, I don't know about our hair. Perhaps fate wanted to play a small joke on me. I always wanted curly hair, so fate gave it to my reincarnation, letting me admire it but not have it."

The young girl sighed again. "Maybe."

"You still remember the boys in the orphanage calling you ugly, don't you?" Lilian asked, giving the girl a sympathetic look.

Lily looked down at the water. "Yeah. A little."

"Forget them. They were merely stupid children," the princess advised. "They did not speak the truth." 

"I know, but still..." she drifted off. 

The spirit nodded her head in understanding. "But it still follows you around. I know." She walked away from the water to stand by a window that overlooked a garden.

"Lilian, why do you think Bakura asked if whoever has the eye also has another item?" Lily inquired, wanting to change the subject. 

Shrugging, the princess turned to look at her aibou. "I don't know. I cannot think of any items that do not have an owner. Seto has the necklace, Yugi has the puzzle, Shadi has the key and the scales, Bakura has the ring, Marik has the rod, we have the bracelet, and the thief has the eye."

"Could there be a ninth item?" The young girl went over to the pillows and curled up on one of them. "I mean, is it even possible?" 

Tigrililian considered that idea for a few moments. "I suppose anything is possible. The next time we see Yami, we shall have to ask him if he can remember how many items he created." Lily suddenly yawned. "I believe it is time for you to catch up on your sleep, my little hikari."

"I'm not little," she protested half-heartedly.

The spirit chuckled at that. "Of course not. Now, you go on and sleep. You can call people when you wake up."

"Alright." Lily gave another yawn as she left the soul room and returned the real world, falling asleep sometime in the process. 

  


* * *

Bakura chuckled as his aibou once again tried to regain control of the body. Ryou had been fighting for control ever since Lily had hugged him. _ 'I might as well give him the body for a while. It can't hurt, and it'll probably prove to be entertaining.' _

Smiling, he relinquished his hold and allowed Ryou to take over. 

_'What did he do this time?' _Ryou wondered as he looked around at his apartment. His memories of the past hour or so were nothing but blackness. _ 'Is Lily alright? I certainly hope so. She was such a sweet girl.' _ He looked down to see some blood on his hands and on his pants. "Did he kill someone?" His brown eyes widened.

_'Lily!!' _

  


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CotA: Yea! A new chappie out. *grins* I'm so proud of myself. The small number of reviews I'm receiving is a little depressing, but... *shrugs* Oh well. I don't mind too much. BTW, the review responses are below.

Elen Liste Alda: Ummm... the pairing is a secret between me and Sakura-chan. ^_^ I'm so evil. 

Sakura onto Hitomi: No, I'm not too nice to you. ^_^ *hugs Sakura-chan* And thanks for the compliment... even though you've already read everything. 


	4. Chapter 4

Stolen Hearts Across Time

Chapter Four

~~~*Dream Time*~~~

Lily smiled as she slipped out of the palace during the dead of night, wearing a brown cloak over her normal clothes._ 'Finally... freedom.' _She began to walk around the deserted streets, admiring how quaint everything was outside of the royal building. Her slippers made her footsteps almost inaudible on the dirt paths, and with her bright blond hair hidden under the hood of the cloak, she was unrecognizable.

_'I'm free!' _She twirled around in a dark alleyway, silently laughing. Never before in her life had she felt so exuberant, so enlivened. Boundless energy coursed through her as she joyfully danced around. _ 'No servants or slaves trying to dress me up or put makeup on me. No big brother constantly watching over me as if I was made of glass. This is wonderful, even if it's only for this night. I'm actually free!' _

Suddenly, she heard voices, causing her to freeze in fear. _ 'The guards! Oh no!' _ Not wanting to be caught, she raced down a side street, randomly taking paths. She wanted to run as far away from the guards as she could. _'If I get caught... I don't even want to know what everyone's going to say. The pharaoh will be beyond ticked. And as for my family...' _ She shuddered, easily imagining the long lecture she would receive from her big brother. Her little brother would probably just watch her with pity in his dark blue eyes.

As Lily rounded a corner, she glanced over her shoulder._ 'Are they behind me? I can't hear them.' _While she wasn't paying attention, she ran into something solid and fell to the ground with a small gasp.

"Watch where you're going!" a low voice growled out.

The blond-haired girl looked up to see a man with white hair standing above her, his dark eyes glaring down at her small form. He was handsome, even though he was scowling at her, and she couldn't help but briefly wonder what he'd look like when smiling.

_'Geez. He's polite,' _she thought sarcastically. "Why don't you watch where you're going?!" she hissed back, standing up and brushing herself off. "I have more important things to worry about than watching out for pompous jerks wandering around in the middle of the night!"

"Hey!" a deep voice cried out. "There he is! And he has an accomplice!" 

Lily turned to see four guards coming after both her and the white-haired male. She was shocked, unused to the guards looking at her like she was a criminal. _ 'If they don't recognize me and I'm caught, then I'll be thrown in one of the cells! Dear Isis...' _

"By Ra... Run!" The male instinctively grabbed her hand and began to pull her behind him as he raced off. 

The girl came out of her daze and began to actively run alongside him. "Any idea as to what we should do?" She was a little scared, but truthfully, she was excited as well. Running from the guards made her feel like she was finally having an adventure, no matter how small. It was certainly more exciting than palace life. 

He snorted. "You're new to this, aren't you?"

_'Is it that obvious?' _She nodded her head as she followed him into an abandoned building, hearing the guards not too far behind them. "Yeah."

"Then shut up and do what I say!" he snapped. "Unless you WANT to get caught."

_'Jerk!' _ Growling under her breath, she did as he said, following up some stairs and onto the roof. They began jumping from rooftop to rooftop, easily making it over the narrow gaps. 

Suddenly, the white-haired male jumped down into one of the gaps. Lily stopped running to glance over the edge, finding the male on a balcony. Taking a deep breath, she jumped down as well, gracefully landing beside him. _ 'That wasn't too hard.' _

"Not bad," he stated as he quickly led her through the house, using a window to climb out into a small path mostly hidden by balconies and hanging laundry.

_'My climbing and jumping out of trees paid off in the long run,' _Lily thought smugly as she followed him through a few more back ways before he finally stopped at the foot of a crumbling wall. "Did we lose them?" she asked him, her voice a mere whisper. 

The man nodded as he sat down on the ground. "Now, what kind of a fool are you to wander around when you obviously don't have a clue as to what you're doing?" 

Huffing, she sat down next to him. "Not that it's any of your business, but I was escaping," she retorted. "And I'm not a fool."

"You sure look like one to me," he responded.

_'How dare he call me a fool! The jerk!' _ Lily promptly slapped him for his rude comment.

"Now see here..." he began, his voice a low growl. "I just saved your life by helping you escape those guards. Unless you want to die, I suggest you NEVER do that again."

"Then don't insult me. You don't know a thing about me!" She crossed her arms and turned away from him, obviously pouting. _ 'Wait a minute... of course he doesn't know anything about me. He's the first person to treat me as if I were normal. It's... kind of nice.' _

"I know that you think highly of yourself," he retorted. 

_'How dare he judge me!' _ The blond turned back around and pointed an accusing finger at him. "And you don't?" 

"I have a right to." The white-haired male smirked smugly, dark eyes watching her. "You do not."

"How do you know that?" She patiently waited for an answer; he didn't give one. "There. You see? I actually might have a right to, so you can just shut up." She nodded affirmatively, proving her point. _'There. Take that, you jerk.' _

He shook his head. "By Ra, you're nothing but a spoiled brat."

"Am not!" Lily snapped. 

The man ignored that statement. "Well, brat, do you have a name?"

"Yeah." _ 'Of course I have a name, idiot.' _She smirked. "Lilian." 

  


* * *

Lily sat up on the couch, blond hair spilling over her shoulders in golden waves as she rubbed her eyes. "What in Kami was all that? Did I dream of ancient Egypt and... Bakura?" she asked herself as she glanced at the clock, which read six p.m. "I'll deal with that later. I need to call Seto tonight. He's probably still at his office, so..." 

The girl stood up and pulled a piece of paper out of one of her suitcases. Then, she picked up the phone and dialed the number. A woman answered the phone.

"Kaiba Corp. How may I help you?" the woman inquired.

"May I please speak with Seto Kaiba?" Lily wanted to know, her voice as polite as she could make it.

"Is he expecting your call?" the lady at Kaiba Corp asked.

"I believe so," she answered.

"Name?" the woman questioned. 

_'Please don't let her react to my last name.' _ The girl sighed. "Lily Pegasus."

"Nope. Sorry. Your name's not anywhere on his schedule." She paused. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Can you please tell Seto that I'm on the phone for him? He'll recognize my name."

"I don't think so. He's a very busy man, and he doesn't like being bothered with such trivial things as calls from little girls."

_'I hate this secretary.' _Lily growled softly, annoyed at the rude woman. "Just tell him I called then, okay?" 

"Sure." Her tone gave away the fact that she would do no such thing.

"Thank you for your time. Good bye." The blond girl hung up the phone and sighed in annoyance. _ 'That woman was just plain rude!' _

~_Yes, she was,_~ the princess agreed. ~_Perhaps we will have to contact Seto another way._~

_'A letter is looking like our best bet at the moment.' _Lily shrugged. _ 'I'll just give Dad a call then.' _ She picked the phone back up and dialed a number from memory--Croquet's cell phone number.

"Hello. Croquet speaking," a voice said on the other line.

The girl smiled. "Hey, it's Lily. How's everything? Can I speak to Dad?"

"Everything is fine, but Master Pegasus is sleeping," Croquet replied. 

"Okay then." She was disappointed; she had wanted to speak with her father. "I'm just calling to report in. I'm doing well, but I haven't found the eye yet."

"I will tell Master Pegasus that when he wakes up," the man promised.

Lily fiddled with the phone cord as she continued to talk to the male. "Can you also tell him that I love him and miss him?" 

"Of course, Mistress Lily."

"Thanks." She sighed. "I'll call again tomorrow. Bye."

"Good-bye." 

For the second time in the past ten minutes, Lily hung up the phone. "How thoroughly depressing. I couldn't talk to Seto, and Dad was asleep." 

~_You should eat and rest some more as well. You used too much power today_.~ Tigrililian's voice was soft and tinted with worry.

The young girl smiled slightly. _ 'Alright. Fine. Let's eat.' _

  


* * *

Ryou rolled over onto his left side and glanced at his bedside clock. It was well past midnight, and he couldn't fall asleep. He was so worried about the girl and the blood that he had found on his hands earlier. _'I wish I knew what happened today. If Lily is dead because of my spirit...' _He mentally shook his head._ 'Maybe Yugi will know of a way to contact her. I hope so. I don't know what I'll do if she's hurt or dead because I accidentally let my spirit take over.' _

The white haired boy sighed softly as he rolled onto his stomach and buried his head in his pillow. Saying a prayer for the girl's sake, he finally fell asleep.

~~~*Dream Time*~~~

Smiling in triumph, Ryou raced down a street under the light of the moon. He had eluded the guards once again, easily leaving them in his dust. _ 'Ha! Pathetic losers.' _He held up a brown bag filled with jewelry and gold coins.

The theft had almost been too easy. A large, ground floor window had been left wide open, revealing money and treasures strewn carelessly over a small table. If the child hadn't woken up, caught him in the act, and screamed, then he would have slipped out without any problems. Unfortunately, the child had woken up his parents and they, in turn, had alerted some patrolling guards. 

_'It's not like the guards are going to catch me. They've never been able to before.' _Chuckling, he tied the bag around his neck and slipped it under his shirt. It was safest there.

As he shifted his attention from the bag to where he was going, he darted around a corner and slammed into something--a human.

"Watch where you're going!" the white-haired boy growled out, eyes on the figure below him._ 'I despise these pathetic weaklings.' _

It was a girl, and when she looked up at him he immediately noticed her stunning teal eyes. They were unlike anything he had ever seen, and they were set in the most bewitching face. Stray strands of blond hair moved with the wind, although a hooded cloak covered up most of her hair and body. The bottom of her cloak had risen up during her fall, revealing expensive fabric that covered a dainty foot.

'A stupid noble lady,' he thought with disgust. _ 'She's probably heading back home after a visit to her lover's place.' _

"Why don't you watch where you're going?!" the girl hissed back, standing up and brushing herself off. "I have more important things to worry about than watching out for pompous jerks wandering around in the middle of the night!" 

_'A noble lady with spunk,' _Ryou corrected himself, feeling slightly amused. _ 'Interesting. She actually snapped back at me. Foolish, but brave.' _

"Hey!" a voice cried out. "There he is! And he has an accomplice!"

Ryou turned to see four guards coming after both him and the girl._ 'Just my luck. The stupid girl stalled me so long that they actually caught up!' _He sneered and noticed that something was wrong with the girl--she wasn't moving, obviously too shocked by what was happening.

"By Ra... Run!" He instinctively grabbed her hand and began to pull her behind him as he raced off. 

The girl came out of her daze and began to actively run alongside him. "Any idea as to what we should do?" 

_'That was a stupid question. We're supposed to run from the guards and escape.' _He snorted. "You're new to this, aren't you?"

She nodded her head as she followed him into an abandoned building, hearing the guards not too far behind them. "Yeah."

"Then shut up and do what I say!" he snapped. "Unless you WANT to get caught." _ 'Please Ra, don't let me be trying to save an idiot.' _

Growling under her breath, she did as he said, following up some stairs and onto the roof. They began jumping from rooftop to rooftop, easily making it over the narrow gaps.

Coming to the edge of a special building, Ryou jumped down into one of the gaps to land safely on a balcony. He patiently waited for the girl to do the same, half expecting her to chicken out. A moment later, she gracefully landed beside him.

_'So she isn't all looks and sharp tongue. She can actually do something beside look pretty and snap at people. That's good,' _he thought. "Not bad," he stated as he quickly led her through the house, using a window to climb out into a small path mostly hidden by balconies and hanging laundry.

The girl followed him through a few more back ways before he finally stopped at the foot of a crumbling wall. "Did we lose them?" she asked him, her voice a mere whisper. 

He fought back the urge to roll his eyes. _ 'Obviously, since we can't hear them anymore.' _Ryou nodded as he sat down on the ground. "Now, what kind of a fool are you to wander around when you obviously don't have a clue as to what you're doing?" 

Huffing, she sat down next to him. "Not that it's any of your business, but I was escaping," she retorted. "And I'm not a fool."

_'Escaping? Escaping from what? Judging by her attitude, she's probably doted on every day, all day. Who would want to escape from that?' _ "You sure look like one to me," he responded, earning a slap from her. _ 'How DARE she! I just helped her and she slapped me. The bitch!' _Her actions had not been acceptable. "Now see here..." he began, his voice a low growl. "I just saved your life by helping you escape those guards. Unless you want to die, I suggest you NEVER do that again."

"Then don't insult me. You don't know a thing about me!" The beautiful female crossed her arms and turned away from him, obviously pouting. 

"I know that you think highly of yourself," he retorted. _ 'Very highly.' _

The blond turned back around and pointed an accusing finger at him. "And you don't?"

"I have a right to." The white-haired male smirked smugly, dark eyes watching her. "You do not." 

"How do you know that?" she retorted coolly. 

Ryou found that he couldn't answer her. _'The only thing I know about her is the fact she wears high-class clothing and acts as if she's been pampered all her life. I highly doubt she has the right to act so highly of herself. The girl's probably nothing more than some rich man's obnoxious wife or spoiled daughter.' _

"There. You see? I actually might have a right to, so you can just shut up." She nodded her head regally, as if she had passed some kind of judgment.

_'How annoying.' _He shook his head. "By Ra, you're nothing but a spoiled brat."

"Am not!" the girl snapped.

Ryou ignored that statement, seeing no reason to argue with her. It just wasn't worth his time and effort. "Well, brat, do you have a name?" He was tired of thinking of her as just some girl. Besides, he liked connecting a name to a face, and he found it easier to remember a person if he knew his or her name. 

"Yeah." She smirked. "Lilian." 

  


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CotA: Well, there's one more chappie out. Just a secret for all you people to know, I have 9 chapters written. ^_^ And all are longer than 2,000 words. *cheers* I should probably get started on the next chappie so I can send it to Sakura-chan for editing. Bye! 

Sakura onto Hitomi: Yeah, I got the corrections. Thanks so much. *hugs Sakura-chan* And that must suck, not having the internet on your computer. I would probably throw a minor hissy fit. 


	5. Chapter 5

Stolen Hearts Across Time 

Chapter Five 

Ryou groaned softly as he finally woke up, still feeling tired. Yellow light streamed through his window, giving his room a cheerful glow. Tossing back the covers, the white-haired boy crawled out of bed, his mind still on the dream. 

_'That dream... it was so vivid, as if it was a memory. But why was I in Egypt? That was just plain strange,' _he silently mused as he went about his normal morning routine. As Ryou was entering the kitchen, he was shocked to find it was nearly noon._ 'I slept in that much? How is that even possible? I always get up by at least eight.' _

Going along with what his stomach demanded, Ryou prepared himself a sandwich, his mind drifting back to what he remembered of the night before. Three things he remembered for certain: The girl Lily, his spirit taking over, and the blood that had covered his hands and pants. Panic set in as the boy thought the worst. _'I must speak with Yugi,' _he thought. 

As soon as Ryou finished his sandwich, he quickly headed toward the game shop, his mind in turmoil, while his spirit only laughed. 

  


* * *

"Yugi!" The doors swung open as Ryou raced into the store. "Yugi, are you there?" 

"Yeah, I'm here," the young boy replied as he came out of a back room. "Is everything okay, Bakura? You look really worried." _ 'Although, that's kind of an understatement.' _

~_Yes, it is. Bakura seems more than just worried. He's scared,_~ Yami mentally added. ~_Something is very wrong._~ 

The white-haired boy looked down at Yugi with panic and concern in his eyes. "It's about Lily. Have you heard from her? Do you know how to get in contact with her?" 

Yugi shook his head. "No. Is she okay?" His violet eyes shone with concern. 

"I don't know, and that's what concerns me." Ryou answered. "I don't know if she made it safely back to her place or not." _ 'Nor do I know if my spirit decided to kill her,' _he mentally added. 

~_How pathetic,_~ Bakura thought with a silent snort. ~_My foolish aibou is worrying over some little girl._~ 

"I'm pretty sure she made it back safely," the tri-colored hair boy responded, silently hoping he was right. He did not want to find out that anything bad had happened to Lily. She didn't deserve any more pain. 

The brown-eyed boy nervously ran his fingers through his long hair. "Are you sure that you don't have any way of contacting Lily?" 

"Yeah, I'm sure." Yugi nodded his head. "She didn't leave me a phone number or an address, and since she doesn't live here, I doubt that she's in the phone book." He sighed. "Calm down, Bakura. She's probably just fine." 

"I hope so," Ryou replied, silently saying a quick prayer on the girl's behalf. 

"Hope so what?" a female voice inquired as a delicate hand touched the white-haired boy's arm. "What's gotten you so worried? Are you okay, Ryou?" 

The British-sounding boy turned to see a blond girl with teal eyes. "You're alright!" Relief coursed through him at the sight, sound, and touch of Lily. She was okay. His spirit hadn't hurt her. _ 'If the blood wasn't Lily's, then who's was it?'_ he wondered, his worry level rising once again. _'Maybe Lily knows. I will have to ask her when we are in private. I don't want to embarrass myself in front of Yugi and possibly his grandfather.' _

_'He's acting silly,' _Lily thought as she laughed softly. "Of course I'm alright. Don't I look it?" 

Ryou simply nodded. 

"Did you just call him Ryou?" Yugi asked, curious. _ 'I thought that she called him Bakura yesterday.' _

The pharaoh mentally nodded his head. ~_She did. I wonder what caused the change._~ 

"Yes, I did. Is there anything wrong with that?" She almost looked worried. 

"No, of course not," the white-haired boy replied for his friend. _ 'I do wonder why she called me Ryou. Everyone else calls me Bakura.' _

"Okay then." Lily smiled. "How about we get going now? I would love to find the eye today." 

~_Don't forget to ask Yami about the items,_~ Tigrililian reminded her hikari. 

'OH! Of course.' She almost smacked herself for being so forgetful. "Yugi, Yami, whichever, do either of you know how many millennium items were created? I know that there are at least eight." 

Yami frowned. ~_I thought I only created seven._~ 

_'Are you sure?' _Yugi silently asked him. 

The pharaoh thought for a moment. ~_No, I can't be certain._~ 

"He doesn't remember," the young boy answered the girl. "Yami can only recall making seven items." 

Lily frowned. "He made at least eight though: the puzzle, the ring, the scales, the eye, the key, the rod, the necklace, and my bracelet." She held up her wrist so the violet-eyed boy could see the golden object. 

~_I remember that!_~ Yami exclaimed. ~_I gave it... to the princess... Lilian._~ 

"Yami remembers the bracelet," Yugi conveyed to Lily. . 

~_I would like to talk to her myself for a few moments._~ 

The young boy smiled. _ 'Of course. Go ahead.' _

Mentally nodding at his aibou, the pharaoh took over the body. "Lily, does the princess remember anything about how she acquired the bracelet?" 

~_It was given to me... I think,_~ Lilian informed her hikari. 

"She thinks someone gave it to her, Yami," the young girl replied, easily noticing that the pharaoh was in charge of the body once again. 

Ryou looked back and forth from one person to another, completely confused. Their conversation was the strangest thing, but he could sense that it was stirring his spirit. Bakura was preparing to take over the body, and his aibou knew it. 

The white-haired boy began to make a break for the door, not wanting to risk Lily's life yet again. 

~_Stay where you are,_~ Bakura ordered, suddenly deciding not to take control. ~_If you stay near Lily, then I won't take over your body until I have to._~ 

_'What?'_ Ryou was surprised by the tomb raider's words, thinking the spirit was surely joking. 

~_I don't feel like wasting energy when I don't have to,_~ the dark spirit explained to his hikari, even though he didn't quite know why he did so. It didn't matter to him whether his aibou knew what he was doing or why. He didn't even talk to the polite boy very much. 

"I guess it's possible I made more items," Yami stated, shrugging slightly. "I'll inform you if I remember anything else." 

"Okay." Lily nodded her head. "Shall we begin searching now?" 

"Yugi's grandfather said that he'd take care of the shop today, so I will search with you two for a few hours," the violet-eyed boy said. 

"That's great!" She gave him friendly hug, quickly releasing him. "Thank you so much!" 

_'That felt familiar,' _Yami thought to himself. _ 'And not just because Lily hugged me yesterday. Tigrililian hugged me for some reason or another in the past. I'm sure of it.' _

~_She hugged him._~ Bakura suppressed a growl of annoyance, not quite sure why he felt so angry. Why did he care if they hugged? The stupid pharaoh could have the girl for all he cared. She wasn't that important. ~_I only want her item. Once I get my hands on it, I don't care if someone guts her,_~ he thought, making sure that his aibou couldn't hear it. For some reason, he didn't quite believe his thoughts. They sounded hollow and foolish in his mind, as if he was denying something. ~_I'm denying nothing. Lily is not important; only her bracelet matters._~ 

"Come on. If we're lucky, we'll find the millennium eye today," Ryou stated, heading for the door. Lily followed, and Yami was right behind her, stopping only for a moment to shout to Yugi's grandfather that he was leaving. 

The white-haired boy led the search, using his ring to point the way. He had walked only one block when his spirit suddenly took over. 

_'I want to find that new item, and I can't let my aibou lead the pharaoh and the girl to my apartment and the eye,' _Bakura thought as he focused the power of the ring on a different millennium item--the new one. The signal was faint, but it was there. His ring pointed north. 

"This way," he told the other two, walking down the street at a brisk pace. 

"How far away is the item?" Lily inquired, doing her best to keep up with him. "Do you know?" 

Bakura shrugged. "No. Not exactly." 

"Can you tell what the item is? Are you sure it's the eye?" Yami wanted to know._ 'Could it be a ninth item? I wish I could remember how many I made.' _

The tomb robber suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. _ 'As if I would actually tell him anything.' _"Sorry, but I don't have a clue," he replied, trying to act like his hikari. For some reason, he didn't care whether or not Lily knew he had taken over the body, but he did not want the pharaoh to know. 

The girl sighed softly. "I guess we'll just have to wait and find out." 

  


* * *

A woman dressed all in black laughed as she fiddled with a golden knife etched with ancient designs. On the hilt was a large, engraved Egyptian eye. "Fools," she whispered, shaking her head. "Idiots. Do they honestly think they can find me with that silly little ring? I believe it's time to reintroduce them to the Sharks." 

She flicked her wrist as her eyes briefly glowed a pure gold color. Chuckling, she sent out a bit of power to simulate the signal her millennium knife gave off. It led the three searchers away from her and toward a dangerous section of town. "Let's see them survive this." 

  


* * *

"Ryou..." Lily frowned. "Are you sure we're heading the right way?" _ 'I don't like this place.' _

~_Neither do I. It reminds me of where the gangster attacked us,_~ Tigrililian agreed. ~_Does the being with the item actually live in an area like this? It seems strange that a person who could find his or her way to duelist kingdom would live in such a horrible place. It takes money to buy dueling cards, and if the person wasn't a duelist, then it also took money to fly out to an island._~ 

_'That's a good point,' _the young girl responded. 

"I believe so," Bakura replied, trying his best to sound like Ryou. "The ring is pointing this way." 

Yami studied the buildings around them. Each one was old and decaying, and they obviously needed to either be destroyed or seriously fixed up. Because of the condition of the area, he concluded that they were not in the safest place. "Why would the item be out here?" 

"I don't know," the white-haired boy answered. 

Lily sighed. "As long as we don't run into any gangsters, I'll be happy." She glanced over her shoulder, almost smiling when she saw no one behind her. 

"Gangsters?" Yami repeated. _ 'That doesn't sound good.' _

~_Do you think she ran into some yesterday?_~ Yugi wanted to know. 

_'I'm not sure; however, if she did, then how did she survive the encounter? And what about Bakura? He said nothing about a run in with gangsters,'_ the pharaoh replied. 

~_Good point. She might have seen some before she came out here,_~ the young boy suggested. 

Yami mentally nodded. _ 'It's possible.' _

"Yes, gangsters," Lily replied. "I really don't like them." 

~_Neither do I,_~ Tigrililian agreed. ~_They're horrid people, and I never want to see another one again._~ 

Bakura suddenly stopped walking, a frown appearing on his face. His ring had stopped glowing, just like before. 

"Is anything wrong?" Yami asked the other male. 

"The signal died. My ring stopped sensing the item," he replied, brown eyes on the golden object around his neck. 

"That's strange. This is the second time the ring has done this," Lily commented, reaching out and gently touching the ring, her hands brushing against Bakura's in the process. She felt the jolt that told her he was a spirit, but it didn't bother her. Ignoring the feeling, she examined the ring, both Bakura and Yami watching her the whole time. She couldn't sense anything wrong with the tomb raider's millennium item, much to her disappointment. "I can't for the life of me figure out what's going on." 

"Perhaps the item is nearby, and that is why the ring stopped glowing," Yami suggested. 

"Maybe..." Bakura's frown deepened. _ 'I don't like this. This feels too much like last time.' _

Loud footsteps drew Lily's attention to the area behind them. Four men with dreadlocks and knives were approaching them, dark expressions on their faces. 

"Well, lookie here," the first said, his dark blue eyes glittering with malice. "Reggie, do you think these are the two Johnny talked about?" 

The second man nodded, leering at the three innocents. "Yep. How many beautiful little girls and white-haired shrimpy boys can there be?" 

"I AM NOT LITTLE!" Lily shouted, stomping one foot for emphasis as she shoved a hand into one of her front short's pockets. "You take that back!" 

Bakura shook his head. _ 'Foolish girl.' _

"What do you want?" Yami demanded to know, tone cold._ 'Why would gangsters be interested in Bakura and Lily?' _

"Revenge," the fourth man stated as he took a step forward. "They hurt Johnny." 

"Johnny attacked us," the white-haired boy stated simply, still trying to sound like his aibou. It was hard, especially since he knew that he was going to have to fight soon. 

"Bakura, here," Lily whispered as she pressed something into his hands, making sure that the gangsters didn't see her do it. 

He glanced down to see a four inch pocket knife resting in the palm of his hand. _ 'She actually gave me a knife? Smart girl. I'm impressed,' _he thought as he continued to hide the knife from view. "Thanks," he whispered back, surprising himself. _ 'Did I really just thank her? What is wrong with me?' He mentally shook his head. 'I'll dwell on that later.' _

"We have nothing against you," Yami told the men, hoping that they wouldn't attack. "We don't want to fight." 

_'Speak for yourself,' _Bakura thought, rubbing his thumb along the knife's handle. _ 'I enjoy fighting.' _He mentally smiled, secretly hoping for a nice, bloody battle. 

Reggie laughed. "That's too bad, because we have something against you!" Without warning, the four gangsters attacked. 

Lily backed up, trying to stay out of the way as she left Bakura and Yami to deal with the men. _'I feel useless. I wish I could fight.' _

~_It would be nice,_~ Lilian agreed. ~_But we don't, so let's not bother Bakura and Yami while they kick gangster butt._~ 

The girl watched as Yami used some attack that left a man on the ground and helpless. It was strange, especially when all he did was hold up a hand, his palm facing the gangster, and then the other man hit the ground. 

While Yami had dealt with one of the attackers, Bakura had used his feet and the knife to fight two others, and he was doing just fine on his own. Despite that fact, Yami moved to help his male friend, accidentally forgetting about the last gangster. 

The last man eyed the two guys fighting his comrades, quickly deciding that he didn't want to interfer. Looking out of the corner of his eyes, he spied the female standing off to the side, unaware of the vulnerable position she had placed herself in. Smiling, he expertly twirled the knife in his hand as he approached her, knowing a weak little girl couldn't defend herself. 

A strange feeling came over Lily as she looked over and saw the last attacker making his way over to her. _'Oh, Kami...' _Panic flooded her body as she began to back away from him, only to have the man continue striding towards her, knife in hand. Closer and closer he came until he raised his knife to stab her. Frightened beyond belief, Lily cried out the first name that entered her mind. "BAKURA!!!" 

As soon as the name escaped her mouth, Bakura instantly kicked away one man as he drove a knife into the other's stomach. Without thinking, he instinctively raced over to the blonde's rescue, Yami not far behind. 

The knife came down closer to the helpless female, and the attacker smiled triumphantly. 

Bracing herself for the imminent stabbing pain, Lily was confused when she felt nothing. Looking up, she saw Bakura grab the gangster's knife arm at the last possible moment, yanking the man away from her. 

Bakura growled at the man before him. _'How dare he attack a helpless girl?!?' _The tomb- robber sneered. "Leave her alone! Your fight is with me!" he snapped, driving his fist into the man's throat. The gangster stumbled backwards, wheezing for air as he clutched his damaged neck. 

"Are you okay?" Yami asked as he put a hand on Lily's shoulder, keeping one eye on the fight. The white-haired boy seemed to be doing just fine without him, so the pharaoh figured that it would be a good idea to check up on the girl. 

She nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine. Help Bakura, please." 

_'I could have sworn that she was calling him Ryou earlier,' _Yami thought as he moved to do what she had asked, using his power to knock the last gangster unconscious. 

~_Me too,_~ Yugi stated. ~_I wonder why she's back to calling him Bakura?_~ 

_'Let's worry about that later. First, we should return to the game shop. I believe Bakura is wounded.' _The pharaoh looked at the white-haired boy's arm, which had blood trickling down it. 

"Bakura!" Lily exclaimed, noticing the same thing that Yami had. She was instantly by Bakura's side, her hands hovering above his wound as her eyes filled with concern. A soft, pearly glow surrounded her hands as she concentrated all of her attention on the injury. 

Yami stared in amazement as the wound closed, leaving perfect skin behind. Not even a scar remained. 

~_Wow. I've never seen anything like that before,_~ Yugi commented, wonderment in his voice. 

_'I have,' _the pharaoh replied. _ 'I've seen Lilian do it as well, a long time ago.' _

Lily, smiling softly, took a half step away from Bakura, giving him some room as he examined where his knife wound had just been. _ 'That was exhausting, but it was worth it,' _she thought as she began to sway slightly. _ 'More than exhausting, exactually. I've used too much power these past two days.' _

~_You need food and sleep,_~ the princess told her hikari as the young girl took a seat on the ground. ~_And someone to support you, obviously,_~ she added with a small laugh. 

_'Yeah. I think I'm going to need some help walking back home,' _Lily responded with a wry smile. 

"Are you okay?" Yami asked for the second time in the past ten minutes. "You look pale." 

The girl nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tired. Healing takes a lot out of me sometimes." 

"Can you walk?" Bakura asked, turning his attention to her. "We need to get out of here." The four gangsters were unconscious, but he knew that fact could change at any moment. 

"I think I could with a little help," Lily answered, looking up at him with soft teal eyes. 

Mentally sighing, he put away the knife that she had given him and extended a hand at the same time the pharaoh did. Lily slipped one hand in Bakura's and her other hand in Yami's, allowing them both to pull her to her feet. 

"Thank you," she said gratefully. 

"You're welcome," Yami replied. "Now, let's get out of here." 

"Sounds great," Lily commented, leaning onto Bakura for support. For some reason, she felt more comfortable with her arm around the white-haired boy's neck than she did the pharaoh's. 

"I'll take you home," Bakura offered in a kind tone, sounding exactly like his aibou as he slipped a supportive arm around her waist. "Yugi, you probably need to get back to the store." 

Yami nodded. "You'll make sure she gets home okay?" 

"Of course," he responded. _ 'Like I would kill her right after I saved her.' _ He mentally snorted, but then he realized what he had just thought. _ 'Why wouldn't I kill her? I know that I don't want to kill her, but I can take her bracelet from her much easier if she's dead.' _He considered the question for a few moments until his mind brought back up the memory of her healing his wound. _ 'That's why. She'll be handy to keep around for a while, and I can steal her item any time. Once I find this new item, I'll steal hers, but not until then.' _

"Yesterday Bakura got me to my apartment building safely, and I'm sure that he'll do the same today," Lily assured the pharaoh. "So, should we meet back at the game shop tomorrow afternoon around one? We still have yet to find the eye." 

"Sure," Yami replied as Bakura began to lead the girl off, quickly putting distance between them and the fallen gangsters. He followed them in silence until their paths diverged. They were out of the slums, and he had to go right while Bakura and Lily were obviously going left. 

"Bye," Lily said softly as Yami turned away from them. "I'll see you tomorrow." 

He waved to her and Bakura. "Good-bye. You take care." 

"I will," she promised right before Bakura led her around a corner and out of sight. Yawning, she was silent for another five minutes before she spoke to the man helping her. "Bakura, why was Ryou so worried? He seemed surprised that I was actually okay." 

Bakura shrugged. "He didn't remember getting you home safely." 

"Why?" Lily wanted to know. 

"When I take over, Ryou doesn't know what's going on," he answered simply. _ 'Why did I just tell her that? I should have told her that it was none of her business.' _

She blinked. "That must be annoying. I would hate it if Lilian had to take over my body and I had no clue as to what was happening." 

_'She's a strange girl. I've never met anyone as accepting as she is. She doesn't ask too many probing questions, and she doesn't argue with the answers I give,' _he thought as they arrived at the doors of her apartment complex. "Will you need help getting to your front door?" 

"Yeah. Most likely," she replied with a small blush. "And thank you again. I really appreciate all the help." 

"You healed me, so we're even." Bakura helped her walk inside, ignoring the looks that people gave him. No one on the street had paid any attention to him, but now that he was taking the girl inside, people had obviously begun to wonder. 

Lily yawned as she pointed to the elevator. "Fifth floor," she stated. "Room 532." 

_'She's a trusting person,'_ the tomb raider thought with some amusement. _'If I wanted to, I could take her up to her apartment and then rob her blind. She isn't strong enough to stop me. Pegasus didn't do a very good job in raising her to understand the real world.' _ He pushed the up arrow by the elevator and was quickly rewarded by open doors. 

Allowing Bakura to help her, she kept her arm around his neck, incredibly happy that he was strong enough to support most of her weight. 

A few minutes later, Lily stood outside her front door. She unlocked it and pushed the door open, instantly being greeted by white walls and a plain living room. 

Bakura helped her inside and let her sit down on the couch. "Will you be okay now?" he asked, reluctantly letting go of her waist. He had enjoyed holding onto her. 

She nodded her head, teal eyes sincere. "Yes. I just need some food and sleep. You can leave if you want." 

"I need to get going." He paused. "Can I have your phone number just in case I need to get in contact with you?" _ 'What possessed me to ask that question?!' _he asked himself, completely shocked. _'Have I gone insane?' _

"Sure." Lily looked around and found a pad of paper on the end table. _'I am so happy that I put paper all over the house after learning how often I need it.' _ She frowned as she grabbed it. "Dang it. I need a pen. I think there's one on the kitchen counter though..." 

Bakura placed a hand on her shoulder the instant she moved to stand up. "I'll get it. You stay there." He left and was back a moment later with a pen, which he handed to the girl. 

She quickly scribbled her name and seven digits down, separated the piece of paper from the pad, and handed it to the white-haired boy. "There you go," she stated. 

"Thanks." He turned to leave, but Lily called out to him right before he went out the door. 

"Oh, and Bakura? If you can, could you please tell Ryou that I got home just fine?" she inquired sweetly. 

_'I don't think so,' _he mentally answered, but what came out of his mouth was, "Yeah." He pulled the knife out of his pocket and set it on the coffee table. "I believe this is yours. Make sure you keep carrying it." 

"I will." Lily smiled brightly. "And thanks for agreeing to talk to Ryou. You take care. I'll see you tomorrow." 

"Bye." Then, Bakura was out the door and headed for home. 

  


* * *

The woman in all black growled in frustration. "That was pathetic. The Sharks should have defeated them. Since the weakling Lily can't fight, it was two to one odds. How could they have lost?!" She kicked over a table, sending it flying halfway across the room. 

Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to calm down. "Well, perhaps I should try a slightly different approach tonight while Lily is still weak. I wonder how well she'll stand up to the magic of my millennium knife." 

Chuckling evilly, she brought out a picture of the reincarnated Egyptian princess and used her golden knife to cut it into pieces. 

  


* * *

  


* * *

CotA: Yea!!! I'm so happy! I got almost all of my freaken homework done. All I have left is Spanish and math. Not bad. ^_^ On top of that wonderful news, I finally got about half of chapter ten written. *cheers* It's already been sent to my beta reader, so I should have that back in a few days... if her internet is working again, which I hope it is. Well, I hope you people (however few of you there are) enjoyed the chapter. I'll update tomorrow morning, and the review responses are below. 

Ame-Mahou: I'm gonna try to post at least once every weekend. spontaneousxhumanxcombustion: I'm glad you like this so much. ^_^ Although I don't believe anyone has described it as cute yet. *shrugs* You're probably right though. I rather enjoy writing in this story. 


	6. Chapter 6

Stolen Hearts Across Time

Chapter Six

~~*Dream Time*~~

"Well, brat, do you have a name?" the white-haired man asked.

"Yeah." _'Of course I have a name, idiot.' _Lily smirked. "Lilian."

"Lilian, huh?" He sounded amused. "So what possessed you to escape from whatever hellhole you came from? If I hadn't been there, those guards would have picked you up and thrown you into a nice cell in the palace dungeon." 

She snorted. "If you hadn't been there, the guards wouldn't have even spared me a second glance," she retorted. "What kind of criminal are you?" 

He shrugged. "Thief." 

"Okay." Lily brought her legs up to her chest, wrapped her arms around them, and then rested her head on her knees. "So, does a thief like you have a name?" _'Why am I talking to him? He's someone who belongs in a cell... someone I should avoid. What is wrong with me? Well, I guess he isn't so bad--he did help me out after all. But... he's still a thief.' _

The brown-eyed man was silent for a moment. "Bakura." 

"Alright then, Bakura the thief, since you seem to think I'm some kind of fool for wandering the streets without any kind of knowledge," she began to say, a small devious smile on her face, "perhaps you wouldn't mind teaching me what I need to know so I can survive out here on my own." She paused. After a few moments, Lily asked, "Well?"_ 'I hope he says yes.' _

Bakura was silent for a few moments, obviously thinking on what she had asked. "I cannot allow someone the guards think is my accomplice to wander around and wind up getting herself caught. Alright, I'll give you some pointers, but the instant you give me any trouble, I'll abandon you in the most horrid, Ra-forsaken part of town and laugh while you deal with the worst filth Egypt has to offer." 

Lily mentally shuddered, envisioning all sorts of horrible situations. "Gee, thanks for the concern," she replied sarcastically. "Your kindness overwhelms me."_ 'Jerk.' _

He smirked. "Any time." Standing up, he took a quick look around, his eyes going to the moon. "It's only a few hours until dawn." 

Upon hearing that, Lilian let loose a word that was never supposed to escape a princess's lips. Her older brother would have really scolded her for that. _'Someone will notice I'm gone if I don't get back soon. I'd never be able to come back out here if that happened.' _ "I have to go." 

"If you want me to teach you, then you have to be back here tomorrow night before the moon reaches its highest point," Bakura informed her. 

"I'll be here," Lily promised before standing up and beginning to run off. "Bye!" she called over her shoulder right before she was out of sight. 

_'Well, that was interesting,'_ she thought as she made her way back to the palace. _ 'I've never met anyone quite like him... and those lessons will probably be useful.' _Silently slipping around a corner, she ran alongside a large building. _'I cannot believe how rude Bakura was to me though. It was unbelievable! The things he said...' _

Lily growled softly as she made her way back to the palace._ 'The jerk. Next time I see him, I think I'll give him a piece of my mind.' _

She continued to muse over what she wanted to tell the thief until the walls of the palace filled her line of vision. The walls were a few feet taller than her, made of stones the size of her head, and branches of trees peaked over the top, revealing a garden on the other side. 

Keeping an ear open for approaching guards, Lily removed her slippers and tucked them into the waistline of her skirt. She quickly glanced around at her surrounds, and then began to climb up the wall, using the edges of the stones for handholds. Within seconds, she was at the top of the wall, and then she jumped down to the ground with her normal amount of grace. 

She sighed sadly. _'Oh yeah, this is exactly where I want to be,' _she thought sarcastically, rolling her eyes as she pulled off her cloak. _'Now, if I can just get back to my room without anyone seeing me...' _

Being as quiet as she could, she crept through the garden and into the palace, almost sighing in relief when she saw no one. _'Things are looking up.' _

Lily smiled, turning into the hallway that led to her room. 

"And just where have you been all night?" a male voice asked in a disapproving tone. 

_'I knew it was too easy. Isis, can't I even do one little thing wrong without someone finding out?' _'She spun around, trying to hide her cloak behind her back. 

"Well?" The man with brown hair looked down at her, his blue eyes stern. He was dressed in his traditional purple priest clothes and headdress, as usual, and holding his golden Millennium Rod in his right hand. 

"I was... just walking around the palace a little," Lily replied innocently, smiling up at her older brother. "Really, Seth. I couldn't sleep, so I decided to take a walk." _ 'Please let him believe me. Please, Isis, just let him believe me.' _

"So, for this walk you took a cloak and stuffed your slippers into your skirt?" Seth frowned at his sister. "I don't think so." 

_'I should have known he wouldn't believe me.'_ She lowered her eyes to the ground. "I went outside," she mumbled, gently kicking at the surface of the floor with her bare foot. _ 'As long as he doesn't ask any questions, I'll be okay. He'll hopefully just take what I said and leave it at that.' _

He sighed. "You were climbing trees again, weren't you?" 

_'Thank you, Isis. A way out!' _"Yes, I was," Lily replied._ 'If he wants to think I was climbing trees, let him. I'm not going to correct him. It's certainly better than him knowing the truth. I know that it's very wrong for ladies to climb trees, but it's even more wrong for a princess to leave the palace without an armed escort.' _

Shaking his head, Seth placed a hand on her shoulder. "You know I don't like you doing that. You tend to climb too high, and since you fell and broke your ankle the last time..." He tilted her chin up so she was forced to meet his eyes. "No more. I don't want you getting hurt again. If I catch you climbing trees one more time, I'll ground you to your room for a month. Don't think that I won't." 

She almost let her jaw drop in surprise. _ 'He's letting me off with just a warning? Well... okay. By Ra, if he's not going to punish me, then I'm not going to complain.' _ She nodded her head. "Yes, Seth. I promise that I won't do any more tree climbing." 

"Good." He released her and pointed towards a large door. "Now get to bed. Hollic will be waking you up early for your studies." 

Lily made a face. Hollic was her personal servant and friend, but the girl favored early mornings and tradition, which meant the makeup and jewelry that a princess was supposed to wear. "I know. She always does that." She gave Seth a quick hug. "Good-night, big brother." 

"Good-night, and go to sleep now," he responded, returning the hug. 

Smiling, she did as she was told. 

  


* * *

Lily woke up as pain shot through her head, almost making her scream. It felt as if someone was trying to cut apart her mind with a dull knife, and the pain grew even more intense as the seconds passed. Soon, all she could think about was the agony spreading from her head to the rest of her body, causing her to shake as she held her head in her hands. 

Tears sprang to her eyes as she tried to fight back the pain, but she couldn't seem to stop it. It wasn't a headache, but she didn't know what it was. It was almost like someone was taking a spiked wrecking ball to her head, sending her mind into a torture-filled abyss. 

She finally let loose a muffled scream, curling up into a small ball._ 'HELP!' _she mentally shouted, the mere effort of thinking anything coherent weakening her. Trying to escape from the pain, she retreated deep into her mind... into her soul room. 

  


* * *

Lily screamed as she felt more pain ripple through her. Her soul room was in shambles, as if a tornado had gone through it, and the floor was violently shaking. She hit the floor by her bed, shouting and praying for help. Whatever was attacking her had magic. It was the only way to affect her soul room. 

"Lilian! Princess!" she sobbed, holding her head and squeezing her eyes shut. Her whole body still hurt, and her mind was in worse condition. She didn't know what to do, but all she wanted was to be rid of the pain. 

Suddenly, arms encircled her as a musical voice comforted her. "Shhh... calm down, my little hikari," Lilian whispered in the young girl's ear. "I cannot help you if you will not calm down." 

Lily tried to quiet down so she could hear her spirit better, understanding that the princess was there to help. Her sobbing stopped, but her body still shook, just like her room. 

"Someone is using magic to attack your mind, so you must fight back with magic," the princess explained. "Picture a protective shield around yourself, around your mind. Then, concentrate and force it into existence." 

Focusing her pain-ridden mind, Lily tried to do what her spirit wanted, but she failed miserably. Her mind hurt too much to do anything. "I... can't..." she sobbed out as a particularly violent earthquake-like tremor threw the two girls into a wall. 

Lilian growled softly. "You can... and you have to! This isn't the time to say you can't. I can't do this for you. It isn't my mind; it's yours! You must protect it." She pulled both of them up into a sitting position. "Now, try again!" 

The young girl wrapped one hand around her bracelet as she said a quick prayer. _ 'Please, Kami... let me succeed.' _Then, she pictured a bubble around her, teal lights sparkling in the silver substance. Slowly, she made it feel more concrete to her mind, gave it substance. She focused on making it real, trying to send it out of her mind and into her soul room. 

After a few moments, the pain began to fade, as did the tremors. Lily opened her eyes to see a silver and teal bubble around her, and it was expanding to include her entire soul room. It already encased over half of the area. 

Seeing that she was succeeding, she forced more power into the protective barrier. She was quickly rewarded with an explosion of light as the bubble moved to enclose everything, blocking out the magic that had been causing her so much pain. 

Lily blinked as she stared at her trashed soul room, slowly watching it put itself back in order. Since the outside magic was gone, her mind could repair itself. Within minutes, everything was back to the way it should have been. 

"You did it," Tigrililian stated, a smile on her face. "Good job." She released her aibou and stood up, her smile disappearing. "What was that though? Who would attack your mind like that?" 

Yawning, the curly blonde shrugged. "I don't know, but I'm exhausted. That took so much out of me." She crawled into her purple bed, burying under the warm covers. "I need to sleep." 

The princess sighed. "I understand, but... judging by how weak you are, you won't be up in time to meet Yami and Bakura at the game shop." 

Lily closed her eyes, snuggling a little deeper into the soft bed. "I know that you're against it, but could you take over?" She yawned. "At least until I wake up? I would really appreciate it." 

"I don't think I have much of a choice, do I?" Lilian took one of the stuffed animals off of the shelves and handed it to her hikari. "Very well. You sleep while I deal with the boys and the job of finding the eye." _'I have gone completely insane.' _

The other female accepted the stuffed animal, hugging it to her chest like a child. "Thanks," she whispered in response, finally falling asleep. 

Tigrililian sighed again, a soft smile on her face. "The things I do for you, my little hikari." She turned to exit the room, pausing for just a moment at the door. "Sleep well." Then, she left the soul room. 

  


* * *

Ryou sighed in frustration as he paced back and forth across his bedroom. Once again, he had no clue whether or not Lily was safe. He had already called Yugi, easily finding out that the violet-eyed boy was just fine. As for the girl... he didn't know.

_'Yugi said that I walked her home,' _the white-haired boy thought, glancing out the window at the night sky. He had been pacing for hours. _ 'He said that she was too weak to walk on her own because she had healed me. I know that asking Yugi all those questions made him suspicious, but I didn't know what else to do. My spirit keeps taking over, and I can't stop him.' _

Shaking his head, he shoved his hands into his pockets. "What the...?" He pulled out a piece of paper with a name and series of numbers on it._ 'Lily... it's Lily's phone number. I can call her!' _

The brown-eyed male made a dash for the phone, picking it up and dialing Lily's number, not caring what time it was. He listened to the phone ring and ring, but he refused to give up. After a few minutes, someone answered, much to his relief. 

"Hello?" a musical female voice inquired, sounding half asleep. 

"Lily?" Ryou frowned, unsure of who he was talking to. It didn't sound exactly like the young girl on the other end. Whoever he was talking to sounded different enough to make him wonder who was on the phone. 

"Yes?" She yawned. "Who is this?" 

He mentally called himself a fool for forgetting to introduce himself. "It's Ryou." 

"Oh. May I ask as to why you're calling?" The girl yawned again, the sound soft. "It's after one in the morning." 

"Sorry about that," Ryou apologized, sounding completely sincere. He hadn't wanted to inconvience her any._ 'At least I know she's okay now.' _"I just wanted to check up on you." 

"Didn't Bakura tell you that I'm just fine?" She sounded confused. 

Blinking, he sat down in a chair. "Bakura?" he repeated. _ 'Why would she refer to me as if I was another entity?' _

"Yeah, your spirit." 

_'She knows that I have a spirit? Did he tell her?' _Ryou wondered. "No, he never tells me anything." 

There was a pause. "You might want to talk to him about that. He was supposed to tell you that I made it to my apartment in one piece." 

_'Talk to my spirit? Is she insane?' _He was amazed that she could even suggest such a thing. "I would rather you stay away from my spirit. He's... dangerous." _'I don't want him to hurt anyone.' _

Laughter came from the other end. "Of course he's dangerous. He's a tomb robber, but that doesn't scare me," she replied. "He won't hurt me." 

_'She isn't scared of him? Why?' _Ryou shook his head, forgetting for a moment that she couldn't see him. "He could easily hurt you, no matter what you think." 

"Relax, Ryou," she recommended, voice soothing. "I trust Bakura, as strange as that may seem. 

"Trust him?" he repeated, beginning to feel like a broken record. 

"Exactly." The female yawned again. "Is that all, Ryou? Can I go back to sleep now? I'm tired." 

"Oh... yeah. Sure." He paused. "Good night, Lily." 

"'Night. See you tomorrow afternoon at the game store," she mumbled in response, and then the phone went dead. 

Ryou shook his head, feeling completely confused._ 'I've never met anyone like her. She trusts my spirit, which makes absolutely no sense,' _he thought and then softly sighed. _'What am I going to do? I don't want to put her in danger again, but she said that she'd see me tomorrow... in the game shop. She must mean Yugi's grandpa's store. Perhaps there's a way I could keep from meeting her without rousing any suspicion...' _

_~Don't you even think about it,~_ Bakura snapped. _~Tomorrow afternoon we are meeting Lily at the game shop. You can either go there of your own free will, or I can take over. It's your choice.~_

_'I'm not going to give you another chance to hurt Lily!' _Ryou argued back. 

Bakura mentally rolled his eyes, almost unable to believe his aibou's stupidity. He didn't understand why he was even talking to such an annoying boy, but he couldn't deny that he was doing it. _ ~I'm not going to hurt her, so you can just get that idea out of your pathetic little brain.~_

_'What?' _ Ryou was confused. His yami was talking to him and promising not to kill a girl. Something was definitely wrong with the spirit; he just couldn't figure out what it was. 

_~I. Am. Not. Going. To. Kill. Her,~_ Bakura repeated. _ ~Is that simple enough for you to understand, or do I have to break it down even more for your tiny brain?~_

_'Why? Why aren't you going to kill her?' _he wanted to know. 

The tomb raider shrugged. _~I don't want to, that's why. Do you have any more stupid questions?~_

Ryou shook his head, quickly noticing the spirit's angry tone. For some reason, he actually believed his yami. Lily would not die by the tomb robber's hands, so the young boy decided to not fight his spirit for once. He wanted to know what was going on. _ 'I'll go to the game shop tomorrow.' _

_~Good little aibou.~_ Bakura could have smacked himself for even talking to his hikari. He didn't know why he had even made an agreement with the weakling, but he obviously had. Giving a silent sigh, he eventually chalked it all up to not wanting to fight with his aibou and waste energy. It was the only thing that made sense, so he didn't think on the matter any more. 

Frowning, Ryou got ready for bed. His spirit had so thoroughly surprised him that he knew he needed to sleep on what had happened._ 'That was so strange... almost unbelievable. I wonder why he's acting so different? Could Lily have something to do with it?' _

Shaking his head, the white-haired boy changed into his pajamas, crawled into bed, and fell asleep. 

  


* * *

~~*Dream Time*~~ 

"Yeah." She smirked. "Lilian." 

"Lilian, huh?" Ryou repeated, amused. The name suited her quite well, as it reminded him of a delicate flower._ 'A very delicate flower with soft, perfect petals that has absolutely no real use in this world.' _"So what possessed you to escape from whatever hellhole you came from? If I hadn't been there, those guards would have picked you up and thrown you into a nice cell in the palace dungeon." 

She snorted, a rude sound that grated a little on his nerves. "If you hadn't been there, the guards wouldn't have even spared me a second glance," she retorted. "What kind of criminal are you?" 

He shrugged. "Thief." _ 'I'll save the tomb robber bit for later, when I really want to surprise her.' _

"Okay." Lilian brought her legs up to her chest, wrapped her arms around them, and then rested her head on her knees. "So, does a thief like you have a name?" 

He was silent for a moment, contemplating whether he wanted to tell her or not. In the end, he decided to. After all, she couldn't hurt him because she was too petite and helpless. "Bakura." 

"Okay, Bakura the thief, since you seem to think I'm some kind of fool for wandering the streets without any kind of knowledge," she began to say, a small devious smile on her face, "perhaps you wouldn't mind teaching me what I need to know so I can survive out here on my own." She paused. After a few moments, she asked, "Well?" 

Ryou thought on what she had said. _ 'She does need help, and it certainly can't hurt if I teach her something. Besides, it might be interesting to see just how good of a student she is, and it would give me something to do other than thievery.' _

A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips, but it was so tiny a movement that he knew she wouldn't be able to see it. "I cannot allow someone the guards think is my accomplice to wander around and wind up getting herself caught. Alright, I'll give you some pointers, but the instant you give me any trouble, I'll abandon you in the most horrid, Ra-forsaken part of town and laugh while you deal with the worst filth Egypt has to offer."_ 'There... let's see how she reacts to that.' _

"Gee, thanks for the concern," she replied sarcastically. "Your kindness overwhelms me." 

He smirked. _ 'It should be entertaining too.' _"Any time." Standing up, he took a quick look around, his eyes going to the moon. "It's only a few hours until dawn." _ 'I need to go into hiding soon. It'll be easier for the guards to find me during the day.' _

Lilian suddenly let loose a crude word that he never would have imagined her saying. "I have to go." 

_'I may have misjudged her. Perhaps she is not such a lady.' _"If you want me to teach you, then you have to be back here tomorrow night before the moon reaches its highest point," Ryou informed her. _ 'I see no point in teaching someone who isn't serious about learning.' _

"I'll be here," Lily promised before standing up and beginning to run off. "Bye!" she called over her shoulder right before she was out of sight. 

_'I wonder if she'll even show up,' _he wondered, walking down the street. _ 'She's so strange that she actually might.' _

Chuckling softly, he kept his eyes and ears open for the guards. For some reason or another, he was lucky. The streets were empty of all guards, so he made good time. Within a half hour, he was at the fringes of the city, in a bad, rundown district. 

He strolled past a few taverns, hearing fights and cussing coming from within. _ 'Sounds like fun. I'll visit one tomorrow night before I go to teach Lilian. I might even take her to one if the lessons last more than one night. I would like to see how she acts in a tavern.' _

Ryou eventually came to a dark inn and knocked on the front door three times, twice, and then three more times. The door quickly opened, revealing a young man with black hair and even darker eyes. He had a scantily dressed buxom woman practically hanging off of him, her face done up with so much makeup that Ryou had to hide his disgust. He much preferred women who relied on their natural beauty. At least they were worth his time. 

"It's good to see you back, Bakura," the black-haired man said with a small smile. "Your room's all ready for you, just like you asked." 

He nodded his head and placed a bit of money in the man's palm. "Good." 

The man stared at the gold coin in his hand. "This is more than usual. Why?" 

"Get yourself a better girl, Rellen," Ryou told him, watching the man's jaw drop. It felt good to shock the other man, so he smirked in amusement. 

The woman huffed, obviously insulted. She glared at him, probably trying to kill him with a look. Her glare couldn't kill, but Ryou was willing to bet that the sight of her face could kill people and break mirrors. 

_'I never thought you could insult a whore,' _he thought, silently laughing. 

Without saying another word, Ryou walked to his room and went to bed. 

  


* * *

  


* * *

  


* * *

CotA: Hey minna-san. I finally posted. *cheers* Sorry about being a day late. I slept in yesterday. *smiles sheepishly* I was out a bit late. Well, I hope you enjoyed the chappie, and the review responses are below. 

Elen Liste Alda: Dang... that's long. I usually can't write anything that long. And Yami didn't create the items? Ooops! Sorry! And whoa... Priest Seth and Yami were cousins. Interesting. I wish I had known that before I began writing this. I guess for my purposes, they're not related and Yami made the items. Sorry about all the mistakes, and I'll check out the site as soon as I can. Thanks for giving it to me. 

Miss maru-may: I'll update about once every two weeks (or once a week, depending), so don't worry. 

Angel Blossom: *chuckles* I guess you can say it'll be kawaii when she talks to him. I've already written that scene. ^_^ It's interesting. 

spontaneousxhumanxcombustion: Yes... it is bad. And I have to agree with you. Bakura does look kawaii when he's confused. ^_^ 

Sugaricing: *nods* Yes, you did just squeal like a fangirl. And it my opinion, it was rather amusing. I have a complex storyline? Where? *laughs* Sorry, but I don't think it's that complicated. Just ask Sakura-chan. She helped me out with it a lot! You have no idea... I owe her big time. ^_^ Oh! And good luck catching Bakura. Tell me if you succeed. I'm thinking of cloning him and then turning the clone into a muse. Kami knows I need one for this story. 

Sakura onto Hitomi: Strangely enough, I do well under pressure. It's strange, but true. Trust me. RL Cassie constantly gets onto me about updating, so I don't have much of a choice. ^_^;; And thanks for reading over all my stuff. It's a big help. *hugs Sakura-chan* I really appreciate it. 


	7. Chapter 7

Stolen Hearts Across Time 

Chapter Seven

Tigrililian searched through the drawers for something to wear. _ 'Did she pack no skirts?' _she wondered to herself as she pulled out a few pairs of shorts and a pair of pants. _ 'I could have sworn that she threw in at least one dress or something.' _

"Ah-ha!" she exclaimed, pulling out a short lilac sundress. The neckline was a little low and lined with small white flowers, but it was better than shorts and a t-shirt. She would have preferred something a little longer and less... "cute," but she would make do with what she had. 

Throwing on the dress, Tigrililian checked how she looked in the mirror. _ 'Not bad for a 5,000 year old princess in another girl's body.' _She laughed, shaking her head. She was acting silly, even though her aibou had been attacked less than twenty-four hours earlier. 

Her hikari was still sleeping soundly, and nothing could seem to wake the girl up, not even screaming. _'Oh well. She has earned a small rest, and being in charge of the body isn't so bad. I still know it's hers, and I plan on keeping it safe, so I guess it's okay. I don't think I'd mind taking over every now and then, just to interact with people. Of course, I'll only do it if Lily's okay with it.' _

Still smiling, she ran a brush through her straight hair. For some reason or another, the instant she had taken over the body, her hair had lost all curl, something that annoyed her to no end. She couldn't help but think that the fates hated her. Her aibou, her reincarnation, could have curly hair, but she could not. It just wasn't fair. 

Lilian sighed softly and glanced at the clock. "It's time to go," she said to herself. "Let's see if I can keep the guys from guessing that it's me and not Lily." _ 'Although, I probably should tell Bakura about the attack. I'm not sure why, but I don't want to tell Yami or Yugi. I know that doesn't make sense, but I feel that Bakura just might know something that Yami wouldn't.' _

Brushing aside her thoughts, she slipped into a pair of sandals and left the apartment. 

  


* * *

Lilian walked into the game shop at a few minutes before one in the afternoon. She was instantly greeted by the sight of Ryou and Yugi talking by the cash register. Yugi was in a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt, and Ryou was in a pair of loose jeans and a pale blue button-down shirt. Both boys appeared relaxed, smiles on their faces as they continued to chat, oblivious to the fact that she had just arrived. 

"Good afternoon," she greeted them as she walked up to stand beside the white-haired male, leaning slightly against the counter. "How are you two doing?" 

"Pretty good," Yugi replied. "And you?" 

"I'm doing just fine, thank you," the blonde girl responded in her musical voice. "Ryou? What about you?" 

The white-haired boy shrugged. "Okay, I guess." He paused. "Why'd you straighten out your hair?" He pointed at her curl-less tresses. _ 'She looks strange with her hair straight.' _

~_No, not strange... familiar,_~ Bakura corrected. ~_She looks like Lilian, almost exactly like her now._~ 

_'Who's Lilian?' _the boy inquired, curious and surprised that his yami was even talking to him in a half-way civilized manner. 

~_Her spirit. Lilian was an Egyptian princess._~ 

_'My dreams...' _Ryou studied the blonde girl for a few seconds. _'You're right,' _he agreed. _'Could Lilian be the one in control?' _

~_I think so, so the only question is, why?_~ The spirit paused. ~_And don't you give me some moronic answer that could be possible but isn't logical. I don't feel like dealing with any stupidity today._~ 

The polite boy almost cringed._ 'I don't have a clue why.' _

~_Idiot,_~ was Bakura's parting shot. 

Lilian sighed. "Because... well... no reason really." She smoothed out the short skirt of her sundress. While her hikari was comfortable in shorts and pants, she was not._ 'My hikari and I need to go shopping if I'm going to be in charge of this body ever again. Her wardrobe serious lacks in the area of dresses and skirts.' _

"Okay then..." Yugi watched her carefully for a few moments. _ 'If I didn't know any better, I'd say that we're talking to Lilian, not Lily.' _

~_That is possible, however..._~ Yami drifted off for a moment. ~_Neither of us know Lily well enough to tell if this is her or the princess._~ 

_'You do have to admit that she is acting a little differently than she did yesterday,' _the young boy silently stated. 

~_Yes, she is, but that may not mean that Lilian is in charge,_~ the pharaoh responded. ~_It may only mean that she's opening up to us._~ 

_'She sounds different too,' _Yugi added. 

~_Hmmm... that is a very good point, and considering how familiar that voice sounds, I would have to say we're talking to Lilian,_~ Yami said. ~_But why? Lily stated the first day we met that her spirit refused to take over. Either Lilian changed her mind, or something's up._~ 

_'I hope that nothing's wrong,' _the short boy thought wistfully. _ 'Although, she is acting like everything's okay.' _

~_You could just ask her,_~ the pharaoh reminded his aibou. 

Yugi mentally nodded his head. _ 'I think I'll do that.' _ He looked up at Lily. "Hey, Lily, is everything okay?" he inquired. 

Lilian stared down at the short boy and blinked a few times. "_I'm _just fine." She paused for a few seconds, debating with herself. Usually, she would have talked with Lily, but the girl was still sleeping away in her soul room. In the end, she decided to tell the boys what had happened. "Lily is exhausted though, which is why I took over. She's sleeping right now." 

Two pairs of eyes went wide, one pair violet and the other brown. "Why is she exhausted?" Yugi asked, worry in his voice. 

"What happened?" Ryou wanted to know, dark eyes shining with concern. "Is Lily okay?" 

"She's fine, just tired," the princess insisted, trying to reassure the men. "Her mind was attacked last night. Someone with magic wanted to mentally hurt her. She fought the person off with my guidance, but she was completely drained afterwards." 

"Mentally attacked?" Yugi frowned, not liking the sound of that. "Who could have the power to do that?" 

~_Marik possibly could,_~ Yami suggested. ~_But he no longer uses his rod._~ 

Lilian nodded her head. "Yes, she was mentally attacked. Her soulroom could have been completely annihilated if she hadn't stopped the attacker soon enough." 

"What happens when a person's soulroom is destroyed?" Ryou wanted to know, voice soft. _ 'I don't like the idea of a soulroom being destroyed. It can't be good.' _

~_It isn't good,_~ Bakura stated, tone dark and angry. ~_And I want to know who had the nerve to try to demolish Lily's soulroom_.~ 

The blonde girl opened her mouth to answer but then quickly shut it. She considered the question for a few moments. "I don't know," she answered him eventually. "I really and truly don't know." 

  


* * *

"She just had to tell them," the lady in all black muttered from her spot in a over-stuffed chair, yawning a moment later. "The princess always was a pathetic being... running off to pursue her little heart's desire without thinking about other people." 

The female sunk down deeper into the chair. "Although, I am surprised that Lily was capable of fighting back. I never expected her to defend herself." She shrugged. "No matter. As soon as my strength returns, I will find myself another opportune moment and then slice her soulroom into pieces. That should prove interesting." 

She chuckled evilly to herself. "Until then, let's keep the fools wandering around in circles." 

  


* * *

"So, how bad of shape is Lily in?" Ryou asked, tone full of anxiety. 

Lilian gave the boy a small smile. "Not too bad, considering. Her soulroom's in one piece, as is she, and she's merely resting at this moment. There's nothing for either of you to worry about, although your concern is appreciated." She gave a small sigh. "Our real problem is who attacked her and why. I would have to say that someone used a millennium item, but I'm not quite sure. The items do not fall in my area of expertise, but they do fall in Yami's." 

"I'll let you talk to him," Yugi offered politely. A few moments later, he grew a couple inches, and his face changed a little, becoming more mature. 

"Yami, have you remembered anything else?" the princess asked, voice filled with hope. 

The pharaoh shook his head. "No. I still don't remember how many items I made." 

Lilian sighed. "This bites," she grumbled softly. 

Ryou almost laughed at that._ 'I can picture Lily saying it, but an Egyptian princess? It's strange, coming from her lips.' _

"Oh well." She stood up straight. "We might as well get something done today." Looking at Ryou, she gave him a small smile. "Would you mind helping me locate this new item today? I think it's a little more important than the eye is at this moment." 

The white-haired boy nodded his head. "I'd be more than happy to help." 

"I can't come today," Yami informed the other two. "Yugi's grandfather has a sinus infection, so he needs my help in the store." 

"That's okay," Lilian replied. "I understand, and I'm sure that Ryou and I will be just fine on our own. Perhaps next time." She made a move to leave but paused to look back at the pharaoh. "Good-bye, and take care." With a small smile on her face, she grabbed Ryou's hand and ran out the door. 

  


* * *

The ring led the two searchers around downtown, and they relentlessly followed the signal; however, when they passed the same bookstore three times, they became suspicious. Something was going on, but neither of them knew exactly what. 

Lilian had a good idea though. "Someone is playing around with us," she stated, sitting down on a bench. "We're being led around in circles, and we were probably led straight into the shark territory those other two times." 

Ryou sat down next to her, his ring in his hands. One of the triangles pointed down the street... the same street that they had been down before. "How is this person controlling my ring though?" 

She sighed. "I don't know. I didn't even realize that one item could have power over another." A tickling in the back of her mind made her eyes widen. "Lily's waking up!" she whispered softly, a smile on her face. 

"Is she taking over then?" he asked, releasing the ring so it rested against his lower chest. 

The blonde nodded. "As soon as I get her awake enough to talk." _ 'Lily!' _she called out excitedly. _'How are you feeling?' _

~_Better,_~ the girl replied. ~_Much better. How are things on your end?_~ 

_'We've stopped searching for the eye in favor of the new item... if they're in separate locations that is,' _the princess replied. _ 'And someone's been leading Ryou and me around downtown in circles for quite a while.' _

~_You'd think that it wouldn't take all that long to notice,_~ Lily commented, sounding surprised. 

_'They were very, very big circles,'_ Tigrililian responded, trying to make it seem more plausible. _ 'It probably took us an hour to complete one circle.' _

~_Ouch. That can't be good,_~ the young girl stated, tone tinted with sympathy. 

_'No, it wasn't good,' _the spirit replied. _ 'But you get to take over and deal with all of it first hand now.' _

Lily mentally rolled her eyes. ~_Yippee. That's just what I want to do the instant I wake up._~ 

_'It's not so bad,' _Lilian insisted as she went back into her soulroom and Lily took over. 

Ryou watched with interest as Lily's hair went from straight to curly in a mere second. It was if someone had been pulling on the ends of her hair, forcing them to be straight, and then had suddenly let go. Her face youthened a little, and her eyes gained a child-like twinkle. Lilian was fully gone, and Lily had returned. 

"How have you been, Ryou?" Lily asked the boy. 

"Just fine," he replied. He smiled at her but suddenly realized something. Lilian's voice matched the musical one he had heard on the phone. "Lily, do you remember me calling you last night?" 

She shook her head. "No. Some time around... eight or so, my mind was attacked. I exhausted myself in the process of creating a protective barrier, and I've been asleep from then until just a moment ago. You must have talked to Lilian." 

"I guess so," the white-haired boy responded. 

"So, why did you call me?" she inquired. 

Ryou braced his elbows on his knees, laced his fingers together, and rested his chin on the surface his hands created. "I was worried about you. I couldn't remember if you made it back to your place or not." 

Lily blinked a few times. "Didn't Bakura relay the message that I was fine?" She frowned slightly. "I could have sworn that I asked him to do that." 

"You probably did," he assured her. "But he doesn't talk to me much." 

"Oh." She mentally shrugged. _ 'I don't understand why Bakura wouldn't speak with his aibou. We talk all the time,' _she thought to the princess. 

~_Of course we talk. We get along just fine_,~ Lilian thought. ~_However, Bakura does seem the type to not talk to those he sees as inferior to him. He would probably see kind, polite Ryou as such._~ 

_'But I like Ryou. He's sweet, and he cares about people,' _Lily insisted._ 'He called me to make sure I was alright.' _

The princess laughed. ~_Yeah, at one in the morning._~ 

_'Perhaps he let his worry override his common sense,' _the young girl suggested. 

~_Perhaps,_~ Tigrililian agreed. 

Lily sighed. "Well, Ryou, next time Bakura's in charge, I'll yell at him for not telling you. I don't want to worry you like that, especially since you're sweet enough to help me search for the eye." 

~_Well, isn't that just precious? I do most of the work, helping her out, and she compliments you!_~ Bakura protested, loudly grumbling afterwards. 

"I would say that Bakura was sweet too, but I don't think he'd appreciate that comment." She giggled. 

Ryou shook his head, sitting up straight. _ 'She certainly seems to understand him well enough.' _ "Yes, I don't think he would appreciate it." 

~_Damn right, I wouldn't. I am NOT sweet,_~ the tomb raider agreed, his tone firm. 

Lily suddenly stood up. "Is your ring still trying to lead us in circles?" she asked. 

He checked his item, finding the triangles still pointing in the same direction as earlier. "Yes, it seems to be." 

Sighing, she gently chewed on her bottom lip. "I guess we could just walk around town and see if I can sense any items." 

Ryou stared at her in surprise. "You can sense the items? Why didn't you say so?" 

"Well, I'm not very good at it because my bracelet is only for close range," the blond girl replied. "It doesn't point the way like your ring does." She gave him a weak smile. "My item is only good for healing and protecting." 

"Protecting?" he repeated. 

~_Yes, dimwit, protecting. Magical barriers,_~ Bakura snapped. 

"I can create barriers that block out magic, as I just found out last night." Lily grabbed his hands and pulled him into a standing position. "Now, c'mon. Let's see if Lady Luck is on our side today." She released him and began to walk off in the opposite direction that the millennium ring had been pointing in. "Maybe I'll sense something while we walk around." 

Ryou shrugged, beginning to trail after her. "Maybe," he agreed. _ 'Well, stranger things have happened.' _

"Well, if that's as optimistic as you'll get..." She continued to walk, her bracelet slightly glowing as she searched for any items. _ 'Lilian, I have to ask... why am I in a dress?' _

~_I'm uncomfortable in pants and shorts. Back in Egypt, women did not wear such things,_~ she answered. 

_'For some reason, I didn't picture you as the type who cared about what women were supposed to and not supposed to wear,' _Lily stated, glancing at a few stores as she walked._ 'But... okay. I have a feeling we may need to go shopping for dresses.' _

~_Would you mind if I had a say in what you buy?_~ Lilian inquired, her tone one of curiosity. 

The young girl mentally laughed. _ 'Why would I mind? I'm buying them for you to wear!' _She suddenly stopped walking, her gaze drifting to a cafe. _ 'I sense something...' _

~_It's an item_,~ the princess stated. 

"Lily, is everything okay?" Ryou asked. "You just kind of... froze." 

Smiling, she grabbed his hand. "I've found one!" 

"Huh?" The white-haired boy let her drag him across the street and into the quaint cafe. The small building had a comfortable, homey-feeling atmosphere with well-padded chairs scattered around. Small tables intermixed with the other furniture made the feeling more complete. Shaded lamps along with a chandelier hanging from the center of the ceiling provided more than enough light to see by. Two men stood behind a long counter, filling orders for the few people who were in the room. 

Lily looked around the area, her teal eyes suddenly lighting up when her gaze fell upon the back of the room. "I don't believe it!" She jogged toward the back area, a brilliant smile on her face. 

_'What is going on? Why does she look so happy?' _Ryou wondered, following her at a slightly slower pace. 

~_I don't know, but I want to find out,_~ Bakura replied, suspicious of what was happening. 

"Mokuba! Seto!" she exclaimed as she approached a table in the corner, feeling as if her heart was going to burst from happiness. 

Two males sat there, one black-haired and one brown-haired and blue-eyed. She hugged both of them, earning a hug from each in return. The brunette was much taller, almost towering over Lily, and he was in a white overcoat with black pants and a black shirt. The one with ebony locks down past his shoulders was shorter than the girl by quite a bit, and he was in a yellow puff vest, a dark blue t-shirt, and plain blue jeans. 

"It's great to see you! I've missed you two sooooo much." Lily clapped her hands, giggling like a enthusiastic little girl at Christmas. 

~_What is she doing talking to them?!_~ the tomb robber growled out. ~_And what's with all the hugging?_~ 

_'I don't know, but I would say that they know each other,' _Ryou responded, blinking a few times. 

~_That I could tell just by watching that pathetic display of affection,_~ Bakura snapped. ~_You didn't need to rub it in._~ 

_'But I wasn't-' _he began to protest; however, he was soon cut off. 

~_Oh... shut up. I'm taking over to break up this little party._~ Without another word, Bakura claimed the body, pushing Ryou into the back. 

"I thought you were going to call me when you arrived," Seto commented. 

"Yeah!" Mokuba agreed. "I kept waiting for it, but it never seemed to come!" 

Lily ruffled the boy's black hair, something she had really missed doing. "Sorry. I did try to call Seto's work, but the secretary wouldn't get Seto for me or let me leave a message. And well... since I didn't have your home phone number..." 

"That's okay. I'm just glad you're here now," the younger brother stated with a smile. "Have a seat." 

"Who did you talk to?" Seto asked as the girl sat down. 

"I don't know actually. She never gave me her name," Lily replied as the white-haired boy walked up and placed his hand on her shoulder, giving her a small jolt. "Oh... I'm sorry, Bakura. I kinda forgot about you." She smiled in apology. "Bakura, these are my 'brothers' Seto and Mokuba. I met them when I was much younger." 

"And she keeps in touch by writing us letters at least every month," Mokuba stated. "Seto reads them out loud to me." 

The blond girl blushed. "I never knew my letters were used as entertainment." She shook her head in amusement. "I never read your letters to me out loud." 

"So?" the black-haired boy responded. 

Lily laughed, and Seto appeared amused, a small smile appearing on his face. "I would have to agree with him," the famous dueler stated. 

"Well, this is great and all, but didn't we come in here for a reason?" Bakura inquired gruffly, his annoyance apparent in his tone. _ 'I don't know what's going on, but I'm going to bring it to a halt right here and now. She may have called them her brothers, but I don't like how friendly she's acting with them. I don't trust Kaiba at all.' _

"The reason is sitting right there." She pointed at Seto. "I sensed his millennium necklace... the one that Isis gave him." A sad look in her eyes, she looked up at the white-haired boy. "Sorry if I got your hopes up or anything. I can't tell the difference between the items when I'm sensing them." 

"I didn't get my hopes up," the tomb raider retorted, leaving his hand on the female's shoulder. 

Seto frowned slightly at the boy. _ 'Something is up with him and Lily. He's acting as if she's his, but... I don't think that's possible. He's not Lily's type; he's too rude for her. Just in case, perhaps I should find out some information on him.' _He pulled out a card and wrote his name and number on it. Then, he gave it to the blond girl. "Here's my number. Give me a call." 

"Maybe we can go out to lunch or something tomorrow?" Mokuba suggested, a turning his puppy-dog face on both Lily and his older brother. 

Bakura opened his mouth to say that she would be busy, but Lily spoke before he could. "Sure. I'd like that a lot." She smiled and ruffled Mokuba's hair again. "Besides, how can I resist a face like that?" 

"You can't," the young boy responded with a mischievous grin. 

Lily laughed, and Seto smiled. "C'mon, Mokuba. We need to get going." 

"Really?" The black-haired boy sighed when his brother nodded. "Okay then." He hugged the girl. "Bye, Lily. I'll see you tomorrow for lunch." 

"See ya." Lily returned the hug and then briefly wrapped her arms around Seto, causing Bakura to growl softly. She released the famous duelist, flashing him a bright smile. "I'll call you tonight. Promise." 

"You'd better." He gave her a look he usually reserved for Mokuba--a caring, brotherly look. "Let's go, Mokuba." He began to walk off. 

The black-haired boy trailed after him. "Bye, Lily. Bye, Bakura." He waved as he went out the door with his brother. 

Lily waved back, a happy smile on her face. 

Bakura gave her a whole two seconds to treasure her new happy memory before he gave her his normal glare. "Let's continue searching." 

She blinked a few times. _ 'Geez, what's his problem?' _she wondered, mentally shaking her head a moment later. _ 'I would ask, but... he doesn't look all that happy right now. Maybe later.' _Shrugging, she gestured towards the door. "Lead the way then." 

  


* * *

  


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* * *

Sam: Yes, that was rather funny.

Hutchy: I will update in about two weeks.

Elen Liste Alda: More of Tigrililian will be revealed in later chapters. I promise.

Olifantje-emma: Thanks. I'll update in two weeks.

Sakura-chan: Of course I would still love for you to beta read for me. And thanks for the cookies. *hugs sakura-chan* I love sugary foods so much.

The1koolkitty: Your ickle Bakura-chan? *giggles* Now that's the first time I've heard that one. 


	8. Chapter 8

Stolen Hearts Across Time 

Chapter Eight

Lily and Bakura spent another hour searching. They would have gone on longer, but she ran out of energy. Of course, both were discouraged by the lack of results. Lily was depressed that they hadn't found her father's eye; Bakura was depressed over the inability to find the new item as well as Lily's date with Kaiba. He didn't know why the latter thing annoyed him, but it did.

So, with time to kill, they walked around town, just talking over little things. Lily even gently reminded Bakura that he had promised to talk to Ryou, although the spirit just shrugged the lecture off before changing the subject. Due to the fact that they weren't paying much attention, they didn't notice the storm clouds rolling in until it was too late. They were far from both Lily's place and the game shop when the sky opened up, allowing huge drops of water to fall on them.

"AH!" Lily winced as the rain began to come down in sheets.

"My place is just a few blocks away. Follow me if you want to get out of the rain," Bakura informed her, beginning to run off. _ 'I hate the rain.' _

The blond girl raced after him, wanting more than anything to dry off. _ 'This bites,' _she thought. _'Stupid rain... ruining our walk.' _

The white-haired boy led her to a small apartment complex, shivering when he went into the cold, air- conditioned building. He glanced over his shoulder to find Lily shaking as she rubbed her goosebump- covered arms.

"Cold..." she whispered.

A strange desire to chuckle at her suddenly coming over him, he shook his head and walked purposely down the hall as he dug out his key. He quickly unlocked the door and let both himself and the girl into his apartment.

The place was a little messy, and he was instantly hit with the thought that he should have cleaned it up before bringing her over. He pushed that notion away, deeming it simple nonsense. _ 'At least I was smart enough to hide the eye away from my apartment just in case she ever came here. Of course, I expected my aibou to bring her home... not me.' _ "Do you want something dry to change into?" he inquired as the girl continued to shiver, annoying him. "I can give you something to wear while I stick your clothes in the dryer."

"That'd be great. Thanks," Lily responded with a smile.

"I'll be back in a moment," Bakura told her gruffly, walking off down the hall. He returned a moment later with a large, blue button-down shirt. "Here you go." He handed it to her. "I don't think my jeans would fit you."

"Probably not," she agreed with a small smile. "So... where's your bathroom?"

"Down the hall." The white-haired boy jerked his thumb in the appropriate direction.

"Thanks." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before disappearing in the direction of the bathroom. 

Bakura fought back a blush, surprised that he would have even had the desire to do such a foolish thing. _'She only kissed my cheek. It was a silly gesture that should not have had any effect on me.' _Thinking more things along those lines, he went to his room and changed into dry clothes--a white button-down shirt and a pair of jeans.

When he came back out into the living room, he found Lily standing by the couch, her wet clothes in her arms. The clinging button-down shirt hit her about mid-thigh in the front and back, but the sides rose up to reveal most of her hips. The sleeves had been rolled up, and the top three buttons along the front had been left undone, showing off a small portion of her chest. Her blond hair clung to the sides of her face and her neck in thick waves, soaking the shirt around her shoulders.

"I'll stick these in the dryer." He took the wet garments from her and left the room. 

Lily sat down on the couch, curling her legs beneath her. It felt good to be dry, even though the shirt revealed a bit much in the leg area. She didn't mind all that much though because she felt comfortable around the male.

Bakura returned with a towel. "Use this to dry your hair."

"Thank you," the blond said in response, accepting it as the male used another towel to dry his own hair. 

He sat down in a chair. "You should button the shirt up the rest of the way," he advised. 

Her hands flew to her throat as she shook her head. "No. I can't stand anything around my neck, even necklaces. I'm not sure why, but I feel... trapped like a rat with something around my neck." 

The white-haired male blinked. _ 'Trapped like a rat... I've heard that phrase before, and it was said in about the same voice. Lilian must have said it, but why do those words bother me so much?' _

Lily lowered her hands to her lap. "I guess you can call it a phobia." Silence reigned for a few moments, and she knew that she had to change the subject. In the process of trying to think of something new to talk about, her mind recalled her dreams. "Bakura, do you ever have almost... life-like dreams?" 

~_They're not normal dreams,_~ Lilian commented. ~_I believe they're my memories._~ 

The young girl considered those words. _ 'Your memories? Hmmm... Okay. I guess that makes sense... especially since I end up going to the palace near the end of the dream.' _

_'Life-like dreams?' _the tomb-robber mentally repeated, intrigued by her question. 

"I keep having these... interesting dreams, and they take place in Egypt," she continued. "I'm escaping from the palace, and then I run into you." She suddenly laughed. "We both end up running from the guards, and you help me get away from them." 

_'They sound like the ones I've been having... the ones my aibou has been seeing as well.' _Bakura watched her with intense, dark eyes. "I've had some like that too."

"Really?" Lily smiled. "Tell me about them, please."

He shrugged. "They take place in ancient Egypt."

She giggled softly when she realized that was all he was going to say. "You are impossible sometimes." 

  


* * *

The woman in all black rolled her eyes, almost ashamed by the girl's actions. "She is such a gibbering idiot," she spat hatefully. "But, at least she's weak now. I may not be at full power, but she doesn't have enough to fight me off."

She smiled evilly, bringing her golden knife up to eye level. 

"Good-bye, Lily." 

  


* * *

"Bakura, could you please tell me what happens during them? Do you go anywhere special? Talk to anyone important?" Lily inquired.

The white-haired boy chuckled, the sound barely audible. The girl was amusing, that was for sure. "I didn't go anywhere special or talk to anyone important," he answered. 

"Do you talk to anyone at all?" she asked. 

Bakura nodded. "Yes, a few people." 

"Well, what did-" Lily cut herself off as pain ripped through her mind, making her double over and clutch at her head. 

"Lily!" he cried out, surprised by her actions. He didn't know what was going on, but he didn't like it. Something was obviously wrong. 

"Help," she pleaded softly, her voice so weak that he had to strain to hear it. Then, her eyes closed and her body went lip, falling into an uncomfortable-looking laying position on the couch. Her body was twisted, her face buried in the cushions, one arm pinned beneath her chest and her other dangling off the couch.

Frowning, he went out and rearranged her body, laying her on her back, arms and legs straight. _ 'She doesn't look good, but why? What's going on?' _ He pondered that question for a while as he sat on the floor and watched Lily, making sure she continued to breath. Her chest rose and fell in irregular intervals, and her skin was unusually pale. Her eyebrows drew slightly together as her jaw clenched, revealing that something was wrong with her.

Bakura didn't like not knowing what was happening, especially since he felt helpless and weak. He couldn't think of anything to do. _ 'For Ra's sake, I don't know how to take care of someone else. I killed people or just tolerated them... not helped them.' _ He growled softly. _ 'Why do I even care?! It's not like Lily is all that important... except for the fact that she can use her item to heal, and it would probably take me time to learn how to use it. With the new item still being used against me, I would rather have her around to heal me than be on my own.' _

He punched the ground, trying to rid himself of his frustration. It was amazing how the girl brought such emotion out of him, and he didn't even know what to do with it. He couldn't use it in any way, shape, or form, so he felt a little lost. He usually used his emotions (anger, hate, annoyance) to hurt or kill others. 

Finally, Bakura gave up on trying to think of something on his own. _ 'What is the world coming to?' _he wondered as he contacted his hikari. _ 'Aibou! Answer me!' _

~_Yes...?_~ Ryou answered hesitantly, unsure about what was going on. Could the spirit actually be saying something to him... while he was in charge? It didn't seem likely.

_'Something's wrong with Lily. She collapsed in pain for no apparent reason,' _the tomb robber stated. _ 'Any intelligent ideas? And I mean they'd better be intelligent!' _

The polite boy cringed. ~_Ummm... a mental attack?_~ he suggested, sounding unsure of himself. He was truly worried about Lily though. She was such a sweet girl, but she was in pain. That just didn't seem fair to him.

Bakura blinked a few times. _'Of course.' _He remembered Lilian saying something about being mentally attacked and nearly having her hikari's spiritroom destroyed.

~_Is there anything anyone can do to help her?_~ Ryou inquired timidly, hoping that his spirit wouldn't bite his head off for that question.

_'No, there isn't. She's on her own,' _the thief responded, not really paying all that much attention to his aibou. He was focused on the girl laying on the couch. Her breathing became more irregular as the seconds passed, and her skin changed to almost pure white.

Lily was becoming much, much worse. It was possible that she wouldn't survive.

~_We have to do something!_~ Ryou declared, sounding braver than he felt. He could faintly see Lily through Bakura's eyes. The spirit's control had slipped a little, revealing a glimpse of the real world to him. The young boy didn't know if it was his poor sight or not, but Lily looked bad... incredibly bad. ~_We can't just let her die!_~

_'Shut up! I'm thinking!' _Bakura snapped impatiently, trying to go over his rather few options. 

He doubted that taking her to the shadow realm would do her much good, and there was no doubt in his mind that stealing her soul and locking it inside a dueling card would hurt her. He couldn't heal or protect, so he was out of ideas.

_'I don't suppose that you have any good suggestions?' _the tomb raider inquired hotly, annoyed that he had to ask for help from his pathetic hikari. He hated asking for help, especially from someone who was obviously weaker than him.

Ryou shrugged. ~_Warm rags on her face... a blanket, maybe, to bring back some of her color,_~ he replied. ~_And well... just plain holding her hand and telling her that we're here for her might help._~

Bakura laughed at the absurdity of the ideas, finding them highly amusing. He hadn't heard anything so stupid in years.

~_Would it hurt to try?_~ the young boy asked, voice soft. He didn't want to anger his spirit, but he also didn't want to sit back and do nothing while Lily suffered. ~_You never know... it really could help._~

Shaking his head and praying for Lily's safety, the tomb robber stood up and went to gather the things his aibou had suggested.

  


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* * *

CotA: Short chappie, yes, I know. I apologize. The next few chapters should be longer. I know chappie ten is HUGE. It's around 4,000 words or more. I can't remember at the moment. Oh well. Onto the review responses.

Sweet Rain: The main storyline is a hidden one. It'll be revealed eventually. Sorry if I confused you, but things should make sense eventually. Everything is happening for a reason... at least most of it. Some stuff I throw in just for the fun of it for laughs and such. ^_^

spontaneousxhumanxcombustion: I don't know what I would do without jealousy. It most definitely is handy... although I do feel a little sorry for Bakura, but only a little sorry. 

Elen Liste Alda: You can keep telling me stuff. I don't mind. I'll probably file it away for use in possible later stories. I tried to get on that site you gave me, and my computer wouldn't let me on. I don't know what was wrong, but it ticked me off. *fumes* Oh well. *shrugs* Any info you have to supply me will be more than welcome. I just wish I had known quite a bit more before I started this fic. Maybe I wouldn't feel so stupid then, huh? 

Hutchy: Possessive? Bakura? Now where did you get that idea? *giggles*


	9. Chapter 9

Stolen Hearts Across Time 

Chapter Nine

"Princess!" Lily screamed as her shaking soulroom tossed her around like a rag doll. She was so tired, so weak, that she couldn't seem to form the barrier like she had the last time.

"Hikari, I'm here," a musical voice stated as someone grabbed her and anchored her to the ground, using magic to keep them there. "I'll help, if you'll let me."

"I can't make the magical barrier," the young girl sobbed. Her whole body ached, and she felt bruised all over after her tossing.

Lilian sighed. "I know, and that's why I'm here. I can't form the barrier for you, but I can give you the power to do it." Concentrating, she sent her magic flowing out of her body and to her aibou. "Accept it, and use it."

Lily nodded her head, sensing the power that was dancing across her skin. She pulled it in, wrapping it inside of her mind and making it her own. Soon, she was brimming with power, the magic almost spilling out of her. Clenching her fists, she focused her thoughts, sending her pain out of her mind.

Lily pictured the protective bubble, using her memories to help her along. Within moments, she felt her magic expand, encompassing her inside the barrier, blocking out the evil magic. Pushing with her mind, she sent the barrier out until it encased everything, finally forcing the shaking to come to a halt. 

Her soulroom was a bigger mess than the last time. The bed was face down, her shelves were nothing more than scrap wood, and other objects littered the floor. Slowly, the room righted itself like it had the last time. The shelves reformed, the bed stood back up, and all of her possessions went back to their places.

"How many more times is this going to happen?" Lily wondered out loud, yawning.

"I don't know," the princess replied, standing up. "But I do know that I need to sleep. Do you think that you can wake up long enough to deal with Bakura?"

The young girl nodded, pushing some of her curls out of her face. "I believe so."

"I'll leave you to do that then." With a smile, Lilian left for her room.

Lily sighed and exited her soulroom. 

  


* * *

Lily yawned as she opened her eyes, noticing that she was wrapped tightly in a blanket. Someone was pressing a warm cloth to her forehead, the gesture gentle. It took her a few more seconds to realize that she was sitting in a person's lap, with someone's arm around her waist.

Feeling sluggish, she turned around to see who was there. "Bakura?" she inquired, her teal eyes meeting his dark brown ones. "Is that you or Ryou?"

"You can't tell?" he shot back, a small smile on his face. _ 'How amusing. I wonder how long I should keep her guessing.' _

She shook her head. "I'm too tired. Sorry," she replied. "So, would you mind telling me who you are?" 

"Bakura," the white-haired man stated simply. He suddenly frowned. "What happened? After you passed out, you just kind of laid there, and then you began shaking. I want an answer, now." 

Lily shrugged, not minding his harsh tone. He had obviously been worried about her. "My mind was attacked, but since I didn't have enough power to protect myself, Lilian let me use hers. She's sleeping right now," she informed him softly. "I'm so exhausted." 

A buzzing sound made Bakura jolt slightly. "That's the dryer."

"Can I use your phone really quick while you get that?" the blond-haired girl inquired, yawning again. 

He nodded, moving her out of his lap. "Sure." He left and quickly returned with the phone. "Just don't spend too long on it. I want to know a little bit more about what happened."

"Okay." Lily smiled at him. "I'll try to keep it short." 

"You'd better." With that parting shot, he walked off, heading down the hall and out of sight.

Setting the phone in her lap, she pulled out the card Seto had given her and dialed his number. After two rings, someone answered.

"Hello, Seto Kaiba," a male voice stated.

"Hey, it's Lily," she responded, putting away the card. "Just calling to ask about the lunch date tomorrow." Immediately she could hear Mokuba shouting in the background, asking if it was her. 

"I was thinking that we could eat at noon. Mokuba and I will pick you up a few minutes before then," Seto replied. "Where are you staying." 

Lily gave him her address, yawning about three times while doing so. "So, I'll should be ready at fifteen minutes till noon, right?"

"Yeah." He paused. "Are you okay?"

"I'm just tired, and I'll explain why tomorrow. I'm gonna go to sleep soon," she informed him. 

"You sound like you need it," Seto stated.

"Hi, Lily!" Mokuba shouted enthusiastically, causing her to giggle.

"Bye, Mokuba. Bye, Seto. Take care. I'll see you tomorrow," Lily said softly, hearing a conversation going on between the brothers.

"Bye. See you tomorrow!" Mokuba exclaimed, and then the phone went dead.

Chuckling, she pushed the end button on the phone and set it down on the floor. Then, she laid down on the couch, yawning as she resigned herself to wait for Bakura to return. 

  


* * *

_'Why in Ra's name was I so worried about her?' _Bakura asked himself as he pulled Lily's dress out of the dryer. _ 'She's just a stupid girl.' _

~_I don't think she's stupid,_~ Ryou stated softly. ~_She's really nice._~

_'Who asked you?' _he shot back. _ 'I know I didn't.' _

The polite boy cringed. ~_Surely you agree with me. After all, you were just as worried about her as I was. When she started shaking, you held her without hesitation._~

_'I only did that because I didn't want her to fall of the couch onto the coffee table and break it. I happen to like that table,' _Bakura retorted.

~_But you asked for my help when she passed out,_~ Ryou protested gently. ~_You sounded worried about her._~

_'Oh, shut up!' _the tomb robber snapped in annoyance, shutting his aibou away in the back of his mind. _ 'Idiot.' _ Scowling, he slammed the dryer closed and went back out into the living room. 

Bakura tossed the dress onto the couch, the garment falling across the girl's feet. "Lily?" he inquired, finally noticing that she was laying down on her side with her eyes closed. Her breathing was steady and regular, letting him know that she was sleeping.

Shaking his head, he sat down on the floor so that his eyes were level with her closed ones. _ 'I wasn't worried about her,' _he stated, trying to convince himself. _ 'I just didn't want to lose my healer, that's all. She's nothing. I'm only using her.' _

He stared at the face of the girl, not sure if what he was telling himself was the truth. _ 'She is so strange though. She's so trusting, so accepting. She doesn't care that I'm a thief, that I'm willing to kill. Also, she seems to have no problem with me when I'm rude to her. Ryou cringes and tries to back away, others just yell back at me, but she simply rolls with it, taking whatever I throw at her. I wonder how she does it.' _

Bakura snorted and pushed those thoughts away. _'I'm being stupid. I don't care how or why she acts the way she does. All that matters is the fact that her attitude allows me to use her to my advantage.' _He stood up and shook her by the shoulders in an attempt to wake her.

"Lily!" he shouted, frowning at her when she barely even moved. "Wake up!"

The girl just mumbled something, her words incoherent. She finally rolled over and curled into a loose ball, obviously still asleep.

Sighing, Bakura gave up. _ 'Just how long is she going to be out?' _he mused, scowling darkly. _'Hmmm... she was attacked around eight at night, and she didn't wake up until about three in the afternoon. Shit! That's nineteen hours! What am I supposed to do with her for that long? Just let her sleep on my couch?!' _

Growling softly, he walked off in defeat. The girl would just have to stay where she was until she woke up. It wasn't like he could do anything else with her.

Without knowing what else to do, he went to another room to find something to occupy himself with. 

  


* * *

Seto Kaiba tapped his fingers on the surface of his desk, frowning slightly. He had already had some people find as much information as they could on Ryou Bakura, but they hadn't come up with much. He knew that the boy's father traveled around quite a bit, sending his son money to pay the rent and buy groceries and such. The mother was dead. Bakura dueled a little and had participated in Duelist Kingdom and the Battle City Tournament.

Lacing his fingers together, he allowed his mind to drift until he could slightly recall seeing the white-haired boy at his tournament. He remembered Bakura dueling against Yugi and a guy named Marik, but that was all. 

Sighing, he ran his fingers through his hair right as Mokuba walked into the room. The black-haired boy looked like he was about ready to burst with unused energy. 

"So, where are we taking Lily, Seto?" he asked, dark blue eyes sparkling. He couldn't wait to see Lily again.

Seto smiled, deciding to indulge his brother a little. "Where do you want to take her?"

Mokuba's eyes went wide. "Really? I get to decide?" Grinning, he thought for a few minutes. "Can we take her to Takai's Pasta House? Please?!"

Chuckling, the brown-haired man nodded. "Sure. Why not?" 

"Great!"

~~~*Dream Time*~~~

"I don't want to get up," Lily groaned as she burrowed under her silk blankets a little more.

A woman huffed. "Too bad. You know you have to," she retorted, jerking the blankets off of the girl. "Wake up, Tigrililian. Now's not the time to laze about. You have lessons this morning." 

Sighing, she sat up and glared at her servant. Hollic was a wonderful person to be around until it came to following the rules and tradition, like calling her by Tigrililian instead of Lilian. She had the traditional black hair that brushed her shoulders and equally black eyes. Her nails were dyed with henna, giving them an orange-red color. The woman was strict but kind, her malachite-lined eyes reflecting her personality. She was also Lily's best friend. 

"Can't I sleep for just a little bit longer?" Lily wanted to know, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. 

Hollic chuckled, shaking her head. "No, you can't," she answered, putting the blankets down at the foot of the bed. "Now get up and get dressed."

"Alright." Yawning, Lily climbed out of bed and threw on a white tunic and put on a golden collar that covered the vast majority of her neck. The garment was sleeveless, and it fell to the floor. Then, she pulled on a pair of slippers as she watched her friend gather up a few things around the room.

"Would you let me do your hair and makeup today?" she inquired.

The blond girl made a face. "You know I hate wearing that headdress and the makeup. I look funny in all of it."

"No, you don't, Tigrililian," Hollic insisted but quickly gave into the other girl. "At least let me outline your eyes and dye your nails with henna."

Lily sighed. "Alright. If it'll make you happy." With that, she subjected herself to her friend, soon finding her eyes lined in a blue-green eyeshadow that was made with malachite and her nails a red-orange color, just like Hollic's nails.

"There, all done," the black-haired female stated. "See, it wasn't so bad."

"The things you talk me into," she commented with a sigh. "I'll never understand it."

Hollic chuckled. "You may want to contemplate that later. You're going to be late if you don't hurry off."

"Oh!" Teal eyes wide, Lily began to run off.

"And the pharaoh wants to see you after your lessons!" Hollic called at her friend's retreating back.

"Thank you!" After a quick wave, Lily was gone. 

  


* * *

As soon as her afternoon lessons were over, Lily walked into the throne room, curiosity apparent on her face. She wanted to know why the pharaoh had requested to see her. Her movements graceful, she walked up to the Pharaoh and gave him a small smile. "You asked for me, Yami?" she inquired sweetly. Most people would have bowed to him, but she never did. It was her way of showing him that she considered him no greater than her, that she thought of them as equals and as friends.

While the guards watched her nervously, Yami gestured for her to come closer; she obeyed. "I have a present for you," he informed her. 

"A present?" she repeated, surprised.

He nodded his head. "Even though neither of us love each other, we have acknowledged the fact that we are friends. I want to cement our friendship." He opened one of his closed fists to reveal a delicate gold charm bracelet. Every charm was the same--a symbol of the eye.

_'Wow... He actually got me something. Amazing, and the bracelet is so beautiful.' _She smiled brightly as she accepted the gift. "Thank you!" she shouted, hugging the object to her chest before putting it on. "I love it so much." She held it up to her eye level, examining it with sparkling teal orbs.

"It's a millennium item. I have one myself." He gestured towards the golden upside-down pyramid hanging around his neck. "You can use yours to heal." 

"What?" Lily snapped to attention, every fiber of her body focused on the man on the throne. "I can heal with this?"

Yami nodded his head. "Yes, among other things. None the bracelet's powers are destructive, although..." He paused for a brief moment. "You need to keep it safe. I don't want it falling into the wrong hands."

"Of course, Yami." She moved her wrist, listening to the charms clink together, finding the sound pleasant. _ 'This is amazing. I can heal now. It was so sweet of him to give me this.' _Impulsively, she hugged the pharaoh, not caring whether she was actually supposed to or not. "Thank you again!"

The blond, red, and black-haired male chuckled at her, fighting back a slight blush. "You're welcome." Smiling, he continued to talk. "I wasn't sure if you would like it. You rarely wear any jewelry... or makeup for that matter."

Lily shrugged. "Most of the jewelry I have is heavy and annoying... like this collar that I don't know why I'm wearing, and the makeup makes me look funny." She made a face. "I like the bracelet because it's small... and because you gave it to me, of course." She paused. "I also like the idea of being able to heal." 

"I'm sure that it'll come in handy when you jump out of a tree and land wrong," Yami commented, an amused expression on his face.

She had the grace to blush. "Ummm... I believe it will."_ 'He wasn't suppose to know about that. Who in the world told him? It better not have been Seth.' _

The pharaoh gave her a small smile. "Priest Seth told me so I would attempt to discourage you from doing such things, but I'm not even going to try. If he cannot convince you to stop climbing trees, then I will not be able to either. You listen to your brother more than you do me."

Keeping her eyes on the floor, she nodded her head. "He is my big brother, and he's taken care of me and Mokuba for years. In most things, I do obey him just like I'm supposed to. You are the pharaoh, but you are also my friend. I don't have to obey an order from a friend."

Yami sighed, sounding exasperated. "I guessed you would say that. You have a stubborn streak that rivals anyone else's I have ever met." 

She smiled mischievously. "I'm sorry?" Teal eyes finally met purple ones, and both pairs were filled with amusement at those playful words.

A guard suddenly entered the room, bowing so low that his forehead touched the ground. "Almighty Pharaoh, Priest Seth wishes to speak with you on matters of importance."

"Very well." The royal male looked back at Lily. "And I suppose that you will be leaving now, as always?"

She nodded her head. "Yes, Yami. I've probably already heard everything that Seth wants to tell you. He talks a lot during lunch, filling me in on all that's been going on."

"That does not surprise me." Shaking his head in amusement, Yami waved her off. "I will see you at dinner." 

"As you wish." With a smile, Lily ran off to spend some time outside. 

When she arrived in the large garden at the back of the palace, she found her younger brother trying to catch some small fish that swam around in one of the pools.

"Have you caught any yet?" she asked sweetly, kneeling down next to him. 

The young boy shook his head, his dark blue eyes still on the water. "No." 

"That's because you keep moving around and scaring them. You have to be patient," she commented, sticking her hands in the water. She held perfectly still, her teal eyes watching the fish. "You want to know a secret, Mokuba?" Her voice was soft. 

"Yeah!" He nodded his head, pulling his hands out of the water.

"You can't tell anyone, even Seth," Lily informed him.

Mokuba was silent for a moment, but he eventually spoke. "Okay. I promise not to tell anyone." 

She smiled. "I snuck out of the palace last night," she whispered. 

"Really?" His tone was full of awe.

"I met a guy while I was out there too," she added. "And we both ended up running from the guards." 

"Wow!" 

_'I knew he would like to hear about that,' _Lily thought happily, unable to miss the boy's smiling face. "We ran over the rooftops and through a house. It was exciting, knowing that I was actually escaping from the guards." She quietly laughed. "It was so much fun, too, and we even outran our pursuers."

Mokuba looked dutifully impressed. "What did you do next?"

"Well, I talked to the man for a little while, and we eventually agreed to meet again tonight," the blond-haired girl informed him.

"What was his name?" the young, black-haired boy wanted to know.

Lily suddenly closed her fingers around a fish, pulling it out of the water. Smiling, she gave it to her younger brother. "His name was Bakura."

  


* * *

  


* * *

  


* * *

CotA: Ya know... Bakura is so badly in denile that it's not even funny.... Okay, so maybe it is a little funny. *rolls eyes* I swear... claiming that he was worried about the coffee table and not Lily. *giggles* 

Bakura: What? I was worried about the coffee table. It's expensive. 

CotA: Whatever. I'll let it slide for now. Oh, and the review responses are below.

MsRyoki: Thanks, but there's no need to be so formal and polite with me. I'm not some kind of stuffed shirt. Heck, I've even accepted bribes to update... like virtual cookies and such. *laughs* And I will continue to update. Don't worry.

Elen Liste Alda: Oh wow... Thanks! I love all the info! *hugs Elen-chan* Thank you so much. So much interesting information... I really wish I had known all this before I started writing my story. *sighs* Oh well. I guess I'll just have to keep claiming authoress powers and make sure to do much, much more research before I start my next Yu-Gi-Oh story. And I can't wait to read whatever you send to me. I'll be more than happy to read and edit it. Thanks again!

Hutchy: Bakura is softening up just a little bit... not much. He wouldn't be Bakura anymore if he became too soft. 

spontaneousxhumanxcombustion: I am sorry about the length. This chappie was long and better, verdad? Oh, and I loved the "our dear jealous Bakura" comment. It was cute, and I couldn't help but smile when I read it.


	10. Chapter 10

Stolen Hearts Across Time 

Chapter Ten

Seto closed his labtop, sighing. He was finally done with all of his work, even with the research on Ryou Bakura. Despite his best efforts, he hadn't been able to come up with a single real reason as to why he didn't trust the boy. Bakura was clean, and what was more, he was friends with Yugi, which said quite a lot. According to Seto's sources, Bakura was the kind of guy who would help an old woman across the street. 

After a few moments, he decided to ask Lily about the white-haired boy during lunch. Since she couldn't lie if her life depended on it, he had a feeling he would be able to get the truth out of her. Seto planned on finding a way to keep Bakura away from her if he turned out to be bad news. Lily was like a little sister to him, and he was going to protect her as best as he could, just like he had back at the orphanage. 

Memories flooding him, Seto stood up and went to his room. He could remember Lily picking flowers and making a crown out of them, her eyes filled with laughter every time she tried to put the flower crown on Mokuba's or his own head. She could also recall her tears as some of the other kids had taunted and teased her, scaring her at times. Of course, Seto had found himself standing up for her the exact same way he did for his younger brother. Ever since then, he had always done his best to protect and watch over her. 

Seto went to bed then, smiling at all the happy memories he could recall. 

~~~*Dream Time*~~~ 

Seto paced back and forth, worry apparent on his face. He gripped his millennium rod so hard his knuckles turned white, his eyes brimming with anxiety. His younger sister had pulled a disappearing act once again, and she had yet to show back up. 'She's going to be in big trouble when she gets back,' he thought angrily, his mind constantly bringing up the fact that Lilian was gone and probably getting herself in trouble.

He was used to her wandering off during the day; however, it was night time, and she was no where to be seen. He had already looked all over the palace and even asked Lilian's servant, Hollic, where the princess had gone. Unfortunately, Hollic hadn't known.

So, Seto had resorted to pacing outside of Lilian's room, wondering where she was. _ 'She's probably out in the garden, hiding or something like she loved to do as a child. I know she hates being confined to the inside of the palace almost all day, but she gets herself into so much trouble.' _ He sighed. _'If she's hurt, I don't know what I'll do.' _

Suddenly, he heard quiet footsteps down the hall. He backed into the shadows where he couldn't be seen, planning on surprising his little sister a bit. She needed a good shock, if only to impress upon her how rash her actions were and how much she had made him worry. _ 'I believe it's time for another lecture.' _

A young girl with long blond hair carefully walked down the hall, her teal eyes watchful. She held a brown cloak in her arms, and she had her slippers tucked into the waistline of her skirt.

_'She's obviously been up to something,' _Seto thought, frowning as he stepped out of the shadows. "And just where have you been all night?" he asked in a disapproving tone. 

She spun around, trying to hide her cloak behind her back. It was a rather pathetic maneuver, especially since he could still easily see it; however, he had to give her credit for trying, even if the attempt wasn't successful.

"Well?" Seto looked down at her, his blue eyes stern. It was wonderful to see that she was safe, but he still wasn't happy with her.

"I was... just walking around the palace a little," Lilian replied innocently, smiling up at him. He didn't buy the act for a minute. "Really, Seth. I couldn't sleep, so I decided to take a walk." 

"So, for this walk you took a cloak and stuffed your slippers into your skirt? I don't think so." He frowned at his sister, a little disappointed in her. _ 'She actually thought she could lie to me? How stupid does she think I am?' _

She lowered her eyes to the ground. "I went outside," she mumbled, gently kicking at the surface of the floor with her bare foot.

He sighed. She obviously felt bad about what she had done, so he decided to let her off lightly. After all, she was his only sister, and he loved her. "You were climbing trees again, weren't you?" 

"Yes, I was," Lilian replied. 

Shaking his head, Seto placed a hand on her shoulder, making sure he had her attention. "You know I don't like you doing that. You tend to climb too high, and since you fell and broke your ankle the last time..." He tilted her chin up so she was forced to meet his eyes. "No more. I don't want you getting hurt again. If I catch you climbing trees one more time, I'll ground you to your room for a month. Don't think that I won't." _ 'I should probably punish her now, but I don't think she needs to be. She seems sorry enough.' _

She nodded her head. "Yes, Seth. I promise that I won't do any more tree climbing."

"Good." He released her and pointed towards a large door. "Now get to bed. Hollic will be waking you up early for your studies."

When Lilian made a face, Seto suddenly remembered just how much she hated early mornings and her lessons. "I know. She always does that." She gave him a quick hug. "Good-night, big brother." 

"Good-night, and go to sleep now," Seto responded, returning the hug. _'I'll have to keep a closer eye on her in the future. I can't let her wander off again and end up getting hurt.' _

Smiling, she did as she was told. 

Finally able to relax with Lilian back where she belonged, Seto went to his own room so he could rest up for the next day. Like his younger sister, he had obligations, and they were obligations he just couldn't ignore. 

  


* * *

Seto sat up straight in bed, feeling wide awake even though it was five in the morning. _ 'What was that?' he wondered, raking a hand through his brown hair. 'Was that Lily? It looked like her, but then... why did she call me Seth? And why did I think of her as Lilian?' _ He shook his head. _ 'It was just a dream... a simple, nonsense dream.' _

He climbed out of bed, intending to forget the dream by working. So, he pulled out his laptop and began typing. 

  


* * *

Lily groaned softly as she opened her eyes. A living room that wasn't her own met her eyes, surprising her. _'Where am I?'_ she briefly wondered before laughing at herself. _ 'I'm at Bakura's place. How could I forget?' _ Giggling, she sat up and looked around. The white-haired boy was nowhere in sight, but her dress was laying across her feet. Bakura had probably put it there sometime after she had fallen asleep.

_'I'm still tired, but at least I'm awake. That's something.' _The blond-haired girl glanced at the clock, her teal eyes flying wide open. "It's after ten o'clock!" She scrambled out of bed, her dress in her arms, and made her way to the bathroom. After changing quickly, she went back out to the living room, which was still empty.

"Ryou? Bakura?" she called out, hoping that she would receive an answer. She didn't want to leave without saying good-bye to her white-haired friend. 

The brown-eyed male appeared in the hallway, holding a towel that he was in the process of folding. She had caught him in the middle of doing laundry. "I was wondering when you were going to wake up," he said, voice pleasant. "You had me worried."

"Sorry about that," Lily replied sheepishly. "I really didn't mean to go to sleep on you like that." 

He waved it off. "Don't worry about it. I didn't mind."

She smiled sweetly at him. "Thanks." Teal eyes curious, she studied the male. "Now... which one are you? You're Ryou, correct?" She was pretty sure she was right but felt it would be a good idea to make sure.

The white-haired boy nodded. "Yes. My spirit is residing in the ring at the moment." _ 'Thank Kami for that.' _

"Okay." Lily paused. "Unfortunately, I have to go now, but thank you for all your kindness." She went over and kissed Ryou on the cheek, mentally smiling at his blush. _ 'He's so cute,' _she thought. "I appreciate it." 

"Are we searching for the item today?" he inquired as she made her way to the door.

"Yeah, but not till sometime this afternoon. I'll give you a call-" She cut herself off. "I don't have your number." She giggled. "How silly of me."

Ryou smiled, his brown eyes sparkling in amusement as he rattled off his number. It was an easy one to remember, so he wasn't all that worried about writing it down for her.

"Okay... 555-1234. I think I can remember that," Lily replied. _ 'It'd be sad if I couldn't.' _

~Yes, it would be,~ Tigrililian agreed, chuckling.

"Thanks. I'll call you later so we can talk about when to meet." After giving Ryou a quick hug, Lily was out the door and headed for home. 

  


* * *

As soon as Lily entered her apartment, she picked up the phone. _ 'I cannot believe I've forgotten to call Dad for the past few days. He must be so worried about me,' _she thought, dialing his number. Within moments, someone answered the phone.

"Hello. Croquet speaking," a familiar voice stated.

"Croquet, it's Lily. Is Dad there?" she asked.

"Yes. I'll let you speak with him immediately."

Lily smiled. "Thank you."

It didn't take long for her adoptive father's voice to resonate through the phone line. "Lily..." he began, voice tense. He was obviously unhappy with her.

"Sorry, Daddy," she apologized immediately. "I didn't mean to not call you for so long, really I didn't. It was a complete accident."

"You have no idea how worried I've been about you," Pegasus replied, tone sad. "I thought something had happened to you." 

Lily winced. "I didn't mean to cause you so much trouble, but I can promise you that I've been perfectly fine. Ryou Bakura and Yugi have been helping me look for your eye." 

"The do-gooder and one of the do-gooder's friends. Of course." He chuckled softly. "I should have expected that."

"They've both been a great help," the blond girl assured him. "And Ryou's very sweet."

"He is, huh?" Maximillian Pegasus sounded suspicious.

"Oh, yes," she insisted. "He always tries to make sure that I arrive home in one piece."

"Just don't let him try anything with you or push you too far," he advised his daughter, sounding just like an overprotective father was supposed to.

Lily sighed. "Yes, Dad. Don't worry. I'll be fine," she reassured him. "Ryou is a good guy. I think you'd like him." 

"That remains to be seen," Pegasus responded.

She twisted a golden curl around one finger. "Dad, I hate to say this, but I have to let you go. I'm going out to eat with Seto and Mokuba, so I need to get ready. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Alright, but if you don't call again, I'll have to send Croquet down to keep an eye on you," he threatened. 

Lily made a face, not liking her father's idea. While she had no problem with Croquet, the thought of having a baby-sitter bothered her. She was old enough to take care of herself. "There's no need to do that. I'll be just fine, especially around Yugi and Ryou. You just relax and concentrate on getting better, 'kay?" 

"Very well. Good bye, Angel," her father said softly, sounding sad. He missed his daughter. 

"Bye, Dad." Then, she hung up the phone._ 'Time to get ready,' _she mused, going to the bathroom. The first thing on her mind was a shower. After being rained on, she felt her hair probably needed to be washed.

Lily kept her shower short, towel-drying her hair and body as soon as she got out. Then, she pulled on a pale blue sleeveless blouse and a pair of nice khaki pants. By the time she was done brushing her hair, she heard a knock on the door.

"Coming!" she called out, rushing to the door in joy. She knew who it was, especially since she could feel an item nearby. Seto and Mokuba had come to pick her up.

The instant the blonde threw open the door, a young black-haired boy leapt at her, hugging her around the waist. She laughed, returning the warm gesture. "It's great to see you too, Mokuba," she stated, ruffling his hair as she looked up at the older brother. "And how are you doing, Seto? Having fun dealing with an active younger brother?"

He raised an eyebrow at that. "Usually, yes, but there are times..." he drifted off, smirking.

"Hey!" Mokuba protested playfully. 

Lily just continued to smile. "C'mon now. There's no reason to get upset. He was just teasing you," she assured the younger boy. "And if you get upset, we might not be able to reach the restaurant in time." 

"Let's go!" The black-haired boy promptly began to drag Lily off, leaving her only enough time to close her apartment door and grab Seto's hand to make sure that he followed. So, all three of them smiling, they went to the Kaiba's limo and took off. 

  


* * *

Ryou sighed as he finished off his lunch. It was quiet around his apartment, and if he was truthful with himself, he didn't know what to do without Lily. He had grown used to helping her out in the afternoons, so it felt strange to be sitting around and doing nothing. _ 'I guess I'll just have to occupy myself until she calls.' _

He put his dishes in the sink and then turned on his radio. One of his favorite songs was on, and that made him smile.

.

  
****

~Don't think that you got me girl.

Don't think you can tame me and change me.

Don't think that it's all because of you.

Just because I don't run around,

Just because we're forever together,

Don't you think of a four letter word to use.~ 

.

Ryou hummed along with the song as he filled the sink with hot water, enjoying himself. _ 'It's sad how a guy can go and deny his feelings for a girl,' _he thought as the lyrics ran through his head. _ 'It's not like love is a bad thing.' _

~_It makes you weak,_~ Bakura sharply informed his aibou. ~_Love makes you do stupid things that you normally wouldn't have done. It's the most vile emotion ever created._~

The polite boy blinked, surprised by those words. He couldn't understand how anyone could say such things. _ 'Why do you say that?' _he inquired softly. For some strange reason, he had been feeling braver lately, more willing to stand up and talk to his spirit. True, Ryou didn't want to push the tomb robber too far, but he also didn't feel nearly as afraid as he usually did.

. 

  
****

~So what if I just don't want anybody else but you?

So what if you're all that I ever really wanna do?

I know what you're thinkin', but that doesn't make it true...

Believe me, baby~ 

. 

Bakura mentally scowled. ~_Because I've seen people in love. They're distracted and weak. They risk their lives for each other, and one usually ends up dead. Once one dies, the other one no longer wants to go on living. It's pathetic._~

_'There's a good side to it too,' _Ryou protested gently, wanting to explain his point of view to his yami. _'People in love protect each other. They know they can depend on one another to watch their backs.' _

~_Big deal. I can watch my own back,_~ the spirit shot back.

.

  
****

~I'm not in love.

No, not at all.

What makes you think,

You made me fall?

I slip, but no, I'm not in love.~ 

  


.

_'Then why are you keeping Lily around?' _Ryou wanted to know, filled with curiosity. Ever since that sweet girl had walked into his life, things had improved. He even felt that Bakura was growing attached to her.

~_She's useful,_~ the tomb robber retorted. ~_That's all._~ Of course, he was trying to conveniently forget how worried he had been when she had taken ill. It just didn't make sense to him. Lily wasn't important; she was just a tool to him. Yet... he enjoyed her company, and she tended to amaze him at every turn.

_'I like her,'_ the British boy commented. _ 'She's kind and understanding, and I have yet to see her judge anyone.' _

.

  
****

~What if I just can't sleep at night?

I see your face in the starry skies.

So high above...

But girl, I'm not in love.~ 

. 

~_You're a fool. You should distance yourself from her before you grow too attached,_~ Bakura advised his hikari. ~_Although, it's probably too late for that. You're such an idiot that you most likely already consider her a friend._~

Ryou nodded his head, both mentally and physically. _ 'Yes, I do.' _He paused, unsure of whether or not continuing to speak with his spirit was a good idea. In the end, he decided to continue anyway. _ 'But what about you? There are times when I think you might be a little attached to her.' _

~_I am not,_~ he snapped, fuming. He couldn't figure out where his aibou had gotten the courage to say such things. Usually, the young boy remained pretty much silent. ~_I am not attached to the girl in the least bit._~

.

  
****

~Don't think that you got it made.

Don't think it's so easy to keep me.

Never know it could all just fade away.~ 

  


. 

_'From what I can gather from Lily, you're kind to her. You've protected her from gangsters,' _Ryou reminded his spirit, wondering if he had gone nuts. He was arguing with his yami, a known killer, for Kami's sake! 

~_I just don't want her dead yet,_~ Bakura replied. ~_At the moment, she's more useful alive than dead._~

.

  
****

~So what if I just don't want anybody else but you.

So what if you're all that I ever really wanna do.

I know what you're thinkin', but that doesn't make it true...

Believe me baby~ 

  


.

_'Then why did I have her number in my pocket after you let me take over?' _the polite boy inquired softly. It was amazing that his spirit wasn't yelling at him, and he had a feeling that it was because they were talking about Lily. That girl seemed to have an interesting effect on the both of them. 

~_I need some way to contact her, of course,_~ the tomb raider shot back, sounding annoyed. His hikari was asking excellent questions, ones that he didn't even know the answer to himself, and that fact bothered him. So, naturally, he went on the defensive. ~_Why else would I ask for it? It's not like I'm going to call her up to chat or something stupid. I leave those things up to you._~

Ryou sighed softly. He wasn't getting anywhere, even though he believed his spirit was just as fond of Lily as he was. The tomb robber was just unwilling to admit it. _ 'Then what about your reaction when Lily was talking with the Kaiba brothers? You quickly became angry. Why?' _

.

  
****

~I'm not in love.

No, not at all.

What makes you think,

You made me fall?

I slip, but no, I'm not in love.~ 

.

Bakura bristled as that memory of the cafe resurfaced. He had _hated _watching Lily interact with both Kaibas, especially the older one. When she had hugged the duelist, he had felt his blood almost boil, and he didn't even know why. ~_I didn't want Kaiba distracting her. She's supposed to be helping me find the new millennium item,_~ the spirit snarled.

Ryou whimpered and curled in a little on himself. _ 'Why are you so angry?' _he asked while praying that his spirit would calm down.

~_Because that bastard isn't supposed to be associating with her,_~ he retorted, growling softly. 

_'If you don't care about her, then why does it really matter who she talks with? It's not like she's going to stop looking for the items, both the eye and the new one,' _the British boy responded, knowing that his question would either set his yami off or make the ancient spirit think. He was hoping for the latter. The former would likely give him a headache as well as have his control of the body ripped away. 

. 

  
****

~What if I just can't sleep at night?

I see your face in the starry skies.

So high above...

But girl, I'm not in love.~ 

  


. 

The tomb raider immediately shut up, actually considering the question. He couldn't think of a good lie; hell, he couldn't even think of a bad lie. For some reason or another, the spirit failed to come up with a single answer. He knew that he grew jealous whenever Lily hugged another guy, which made no sense to him. Lily wasn't important; she wasn't important; she wasn't... 

Bakura shook his head, trying to clear it. Things were so confusing that he just didn't know what to think anymore. ~_That's none of your business, aibou, so shut up and leave me alone,_~ he growled out, tone dark and forbidding.

. 

  
****

~So if my heart just skips a beat?

What if I lose a little sleep?~ 

  


.

_'Alright.' _ Ryou understood that he had pushed his yami too far, had asked too many questions. Fortunately, he had caused an interesting reaction in the tomb robber, which was a start. Perhaps if he could convince Bakura that it was okay to care about people, the spirit would stop being so cold and cruel. 

The British boy was praying with all his heart that something or someone could soften up his yami. He was tired of Bakura taking over, leaving him to wake up with a fearful heart and no memory. He wanted his spirit to be kinder... at least kind enough not to hurt other people for no reason. 

. 

  
****

~I'm not in love.

No, not at all.

What makes you think,

You made me fall?

I slip, but no, I'm not in love.~ 

  


. 

~_Good. Now, shut off that stupid music,_~ Bakura ordered. He had actually paid attention to some of lyrics, and they annoyed him. For some reason he couldn't figure out, they seemed to hit home, tugging at something inside of him. He hated things like that.

Ryou sighed, not wanting to anger his spirit any more than he already had. _ 'Okay.' _ He really didn't want to turn the radio off for two reasons. The first was he liked the song, and the second was it seemed to affect his yami. And if the lyrics affected Bakura for the reason the young boy thought they did... Well, needless to say he thought the spirit needed to listen to the song again and actually contemplate what it was saying.

. 

  
****

~I'm not in love.

No, not at all.

What makes you think,

You made me fall?

I slip, but no, I'm not in love.~ 

  


. 

The polite boy turned off the radio and finished washing the dishes, remembering one interesting fact as he did so. 

He had the song on CD.

  


* * *

  


* * *

CotA: Hey people. The song is by BBMak. It's called "I'm not in love." *laughs* I just had to use it, mainly b/c it's one of my favorite songs. Well, the review responses are below. 

Yami'sLittleGirl: Mokuba's not going to tell Seth. He promised. Besides, there's no reason for him to tell. 

crystal crittenden: I will update as soon as I can.

spontaneousxhumanxcombustion: Yes, denial. Sad, but true. You'd think that he'd eventually come out of it, but nooooo. He has to be a tough guy. *snorts* How pathetic. 

Hutchy: I'll try to update soon. ^_^

Elen Liste Alda: Thanks! ^_^

Crazy: I'm glad you approve of Lily. Sakura-chan helped me develop her.


	11. Chapter 11

Stolen Hearts Across Time

Chapter Eleven

Lily giggled softly as Mokuba related a small story to her. They had finished their lunch over three hours ago, but they were still talking over tea and lemonade, enjoying themselves.

"And so poor Seto tumbled down three flights of stairs in only a towel," she repeated, still giggling. "I feel rather sorry for him."

_I do, too,_ Tigrililian commented, shaking her head. _That must have been awful... especially since his little brother obviously saw the incident._

"I wouldn't. He was stupid enough to not look where he was going," Mokuba replied, grinning. "And he actually lost the towel on the second flight."

Seto, face beet red, scowled at his brother. He did not like his most embarrassing moments being told in the middle of the restaurant to Lily. It just seemed wrong to him... as well as humiliating. "You were the one who left your skateboard at the top of the stairs."

"I believe you failed to mention that tiny fact," Lily stated, stiffling her laughter. She was used to the slight bickering between the two boys, and she actually enjoyed listening to it. For some reason, it was comforting. "But I don't think Seto should feel too bad. I was supposed to go with Dad to this big dinner party, and he had me wear this really fancy dress. Well, right as I entered the room, I tripped over a leg to a chair and then stepped on the hem of my skirt. Unfortunately, when I did that, I ripped off the back half, revealing my underwear and everything to all the snobby, rich people behind me. I believe one lady even fainted." _'That poor old lady... I never meant to do that to her. I think she had to go to the hospital.' _

_I remember that, and she did have to go there in an ambulance,_ the princess said with a soft laugh. _You called that the most humiliating day of your life for quite a while._

Both of the Kaiba brothers laughed. "You never mentioned that in any one of your letters," Seto reminded her, which made her blush. Of course, he decided to conveniently forget at that moment just how many embarrassing moments he had left out of his letters to her.

"The memory was too embarrassing at the time for me to relate to anyone, either over the phone or in a letter. I wouldn't even talk to Dad about it for some time, and he had this bad habit of ribbing me about it that just made everything worse." Lily smiled. "He still talks about it every now and then." She shook her head, her cheeks still flushed. _'He'll probably rib me about it even more once he learns that I told Seto and Mokuba.' _

_Quite possibly,_ Lilian agreed.

"I believe I can top that," the brown-haired man said, smirking. "A year ago, Mokuba decided to rollerblade around the house."

"Don't tell her that!" Mokuba protested, looking absolutely horrified.

"Well," the older brother ignored the black-haired boy and continued on with the story, "he went flying down the hall too fast, and he crashed into a table. He ended up with a fish bowl stuck on his head and a goldfish hanging halfway out of his ear for about fifteen minutes."

"It took you fifteen minutes to get the bowl off of his head?" she inquired in-between her peals of laughter.

Seto shook his head, still grinning. "No. It took me that long just to stop laughing."

"Yeah. The only time my big brother laughs is when it's at my expense," the black-haired boy grumbled, sticking his tongue out at Seto. "And it took me three days to get the fish smell out of my hair."

"Oh, cheer up," Lily said sweetly, ruffling his dark tresses. "That wasn't so bad, and it most definitely could have been worse."

"How so?" he wanted to know, leaning his elbows on the table and resting his head in his hands. He was all ears for her next story, which was promising to be much more humiliating than his.

"Well, when I was much younger, I got to playing around on Dad's computer. For some reason, he had forgotten to log off of his email account." She grinned mischievously. "I messed around for a while and typed up a little, cute message to him, thinking that I'd send it to him. Unfortunately, I didn't. The email ended up going to some big lady rival of Dad's. Needless to say, she obtained a little blackmail information in that email, and she even tried to use it against him to shut down his business."

"What happened after that?" Seto asked, sounding curious. He was used to hearing about Lily and her habit of getting into things she was not supposed to mess with. She was sweet and never meant any harm, but her actions sometimes had concequences that were not the best.

"Dad merely revealed that he had blackmail information on her, which of course shut her up, and then he put a screensavor with a password on his computer," Lily replied. "It worked, especially since I felt so bad for causing him all that trouble. I never got on his computer again without his permission."

"That was it?" Mokuba raised an eyebrow, feeling a little disappointed. He had been expecting something much worse.

"Yes, that was i-" She cut herself off and gasped as a waiter tripped and dumped an entire picture of soda on her head and back. The sticky liquid turned her pastel blouse to an ugly brown color, making it cling to her body as well. Her wet, soda-discolored hair hung about her face in limp waves, making her look like a drowned rat.

_'Oh my dear Kami... I don't believe it,' _Lily thought as she felt the cold drink soak her clothes all the way through to her skin.

_Well, I can't say I've ever had anything like this happen to me,_ Tigrililian stated, chuckling. _Although it is rather amusing._

"Lily, are you okay?" Seto asked when she didn't say a word.

"She looks fine," Mokuba commented, studying the girl for a brief moment.

"I'm so sorry, miss. Are you alright?" the waiter inquired, worry thick in his voice. He hadn't meant to pour the soda all over her.

".... Cold!" Lily hissed out, taking slow, deep breaths. "Cold... cold... cold." She lightly tugged on the back of her shirt for a few seconds. "An ice-cube went down my back." The said ice-cube fell to the ground, half melted.

The waiter licked his lips nervously, obviously feeling bad about the whole incident. "I am really very sorry. Is there anything I can get for you?"

She shook her head, a small smile on her face. She had a feeling that she would laugh with the Kaiba brothers about the soda pitcher accident a little later. "No thank you. I've already eaten."

"Would you like to speak to my manager?" he asked politely.

"No. I'm fine. I just probably need to get home and get my clothes washed," Lily answered.

Seto quickly decided to take charge. "Mokuba, why don't you take Lily out to the limo while I pay the bill? Then we'll take her home."

"Okay, Seto," the black-haired boy replied, standing up as Lily did the same.

"Thanks," she said with a grin. "I appreciate everything."

The champion duelist waved the two off, and then he went to pay the bill.

* * *

The woman in all black smiled. She hadn't really been strong enough to attack Lily mentally, so she had found another way to stop the girl's date with the Kaiba brothers. "That waiter was too easy to magically trip." She sat down in a chair, fingering her golden knife. "And although it was petty, I did end the date." 

Growling softly, she glanced up at the dartboard across the room that held Lily's picture in the center. Her movements smooth, she picked up a dart and threw it, easily hitting the center of the picture--Lily's heart. "Practice makes perfect, and I do practice," she said softly, a smirk creaping up on her face. "And with a little more practice, I'll be able to destroy her soul room."

The smirk turned into a full evil smile. "Soon, she'll be gone, and I'll have my revenge."

* * *

Ryou glanced over at the phone, sighing. _'Why hasn't Lily called yet? It's after three thirty. Surely she's done with lunch by now,' _he mused, frowning. He was worried about the girl, especially since he really had nothing to take his mind off her. 

_I told you that I didn't want her spending any time with Kaiba,_ Bakura snapped. _This is probably all his doing. He's keeping her busy so she can't help search for the items with us. That, or he let her get into trouble._

_'Maybe she merely lost track of time,' _the polite boy suggested softly, trying to calm his spirit. It wouldn't do anyone any good if the tomb raider took over the body and went storming around in an attempt to find the blond girl. _'Perhaps we should try calling her?' _

His yami considered that for a few moments. _Yes. Do it, and if she answers the phone, make sure you ask her what she's been up to for so long and why she forgot about us._

Ryou nodded, knowing that it was not a good time to refuse his spirit. Besides, he wanted to call Lily as well. Without saying another word, he picked up the phone and dialed. No one answered, and he gave up after the tenth ring. _'No one's home.' _

_I'm not so sure,_ Bakura replied suspeciously. _Perhaps we should head over to her apartment to make sure she isn't there with Kaiba._

_'I don't think we-' _He was instantly cut off by the spirit.

_Don't tell me that YOU trust Kaiba,_ the tomb robber snapped impatiently.

_'I don't really know him, so I'm not sure,' _Ryou answered quietly.

_Well, if you don't start heading over to her place RIGHT NOW, I'll take over and go there myself,_ Bakura stated. _So you can either cooperate or I'll just take things into my own hands. It's your choice_. He didn't understand why he was trying to talk his aibou into doing what he wanted instead of just taking over. The latter choice would have been less hassle. For some reason though, he just didn't really feel like taking charge of the body by force anymore.

His hikari bowed his head in defeat. _'Alright.' _He couldn't understand why his yami was giving him a choice. It was strange, but he felt he could become used to it eventually. Having a slightly more predictable spirit was nice. _'But I don't know where she lives.' _

The Egyptian spirit rolled his eyes. _I'll tell you where to go then,_ he replied. _But I suggest you start walking... now._

Ryou stood up, grabbed his apartment keys, and headed out the door. Soon, he was on his way to Lily's apartment.

* * *

"Sorry. I think I'm ruining your seat," Lily stated as Seto climbed into the limo. "There's no way soda can be good for a leather interior." 

He shrugged, looking completely unconcerned. "Don't worry about it."

"Really, it's not a big deal," Mokuba added. Lily was sitting in the middle, with him on one side and Seto on the other.

She fidgeted slightly, expression still apologetic. "Okay..."

Seto suddenly remembered what he had wanted to talk to her about. "Lily, I have a question about your friend Ryou Bakura," he began. "Are you going out with him or anything?"

The blond-haired girl blinked. "Huh? Whatever gave you that idea? Last time I checked, we were just friends."_ 'Why'd he ask that?' _she mused, curious. _'I mean, I get along great with both Ryou and Bakura, but I don't see how I could have given the impression that we were going out.' __I don't know either. Perhaps it was something Ryou or Bakura did instead,_ Lilian suggested, trying to be helpful. _But Seto might also just be jumping to conclusions like any older brother would. He's probably just worried. If he saw us interact with Yami or Yugi, he'd probably ask if we were going out with one of them._

Lily silently laughed. _'You're probably right. Seto always seems to worry about me.' _

"He acted possessive of you when we met, so I was just wondering," the brown-haired man replied. "I would also like to know a little about him, as in your opinions on him."

_'Should I describe Ryou or Bakura? Which one is he asking for?' _she wondered, expression thoughtful.

_Describe both... as if they were combined into one person,_ the princess replied. _That'd probably be the best thing to do._

_'Alright.' _"He's really nice and helpful, and I enjoy spending time with him," Lily stated. "He's been trying to help me locate Dad's item, and he even protected me from gangsters a little while ago. I don't know what I would do without him." She smiled. "He's a great guy, and I like him a lot." Her eyes widened slightly at her last statement as a faint blush crept into her cheeks. _'Where did that come from?' _

_It looks like you weren't paying too much attention and you blurted out the truth,_ Tigrililian responded, grinning. She knew what kind of "like" her hikari had meant. _And I would have to agree with your statement; I like Bakura a lot, too. Ryou's a great guy, but I prefer his spirit._

_'You would. With that nasty streak you have, I'm not surprised,' _she mused, tone teasing. _'But I think I like Ryou a little better. He's sweeter and such a gentleman. Bakura's wonderful too, and I do like him... actually, I like both of them.' _She blinked, surprised at herself.

_You probably like Ryou better because you're such an innocent, sweet girl,_ the spirit told her aibou. _Your personality matches his._

"Ah-ha... you like him?" Seto repeated doubtfully as Lily nodded her head.

"Are you gonna tell him?" Mokuba wanted to know, dark blue eyes bright with curiosity.

The blond girl smiled. "I don't know. Perhaps." She shrugged. "I guess it depends on how things go." She instantly noticed the dark expression on the elder brother's face. He was not happy with the way things were progressing. "Relax, Seto! I'm not going to do anything stupid. It's probably just a simple crush or something. I can't tell right now."

"Lily's in love; Lily's in love," the black-haired boy teased, grinning from ear to ear.

Seto glared at his younger brother before looking back at Lily. "Something just seemed strange about him," he stated. "I don't trust him."

"You don't trust a lot of people," Mokuba interjected, but his older brother ignored him.

"Why not?" Lily inquired, feeling confused. She didn't see how someone couldn't trust Ryou or Bakura. Sure, the spirit was a little violent, but he was still a good guy.

"There's just something about him..." The champion duelist drifted off, thinking hard. _'Ryou Bakura is strange, and something inside me keeps saying that he'd have no problem putting her in danger. If only I could find evidence that would support my hunch.' _

She giggled. "He's a great guy. I trust him with my life," she informed him, still smiling. "So relax. He won't let anything bad happen to me."

Seto raised an eyebrow at that, definitely not liking what she had said. Mokuba just looked shocked. "Are you sure that's a safe thing to do? You just met him not all that long ago," the black-haired boy asked, tone worried.

"Don't worry about me," Lily replied, ruffling his hair affectionately. "I'll be fine... promise."

"I hope so," the young boy said, his dark blue eyes tinted with worry. He didn't want anything bad to happen to his "big sister."

The limo suddenly came to a complete stop, causing the girl to look out the window. They had finally arrived at her apartment building.

"It looks like I get to go now. I'll talk to you boys later, okay?" She gave them both a reassuring smile.

"Alright. Just make sure to keep in touch," Seto responded as he climbed out, allowing her to do the same. "And if anything happens or you need help, make sure to call me."

"Besides, we need to set up our next lunch date together!" Mokuba added cheerfully.

Lily giggled at his enthusiasm. "Don't worry. I won't forget." With one last smile and a round of good-byes, she went into the building, leaving the two Kaiba brothers behind.

* * *

CotA: Alright minna-san, I hope you enjoyed the funny chapter. Sorry about the change in the telepathy stuff between the yamis and aibous. ff.net won't let me use the little tilda thingy I used to. ::shrugs:: oh well. I believe I can adapt until they fix the stupid uploader. BTW, the review responses are below. 

Hutchy: I think Bakura is softening up a little. ::smiles:: Nice, isn't it?

Yami'sLittleGirl: I'll update in about two weeks.

Freedom: I would love to "read the bloody manga" as you so charmingly put it but I unfortunately live in a town that doesn't carry the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga, and I'm also broke, so I can't exactly order it. I also haven't seen episode 200. What I know is just what I've seen on TV and read on the internet, which isn't too much. So please, get off my case. I'm trying my best. If you don't like it, tough. My best is all I've got.

spontaneousxhumanxcombustion: "wicked adorable" huh? Well, I guess that means I'm doing a good job. I loved that chat between Ryou and Bakura, and writing it was so much fun.

the1koolkitty: Thanks, and the song is from their first CD. It's track number two. I love BBMak so much. They are one of my favorite groups... right up there with Evanescence. ::grins::

Elen Liste Alda: Thanks, and I will try to keep updating.

Sakura onto Hitomi: ::laughs:: It should look familiar. You've read it before. And it's good to have you back. ::hugs Sakura-chan::


	12. Chapter 12

Stolen Hearts Across Time

Chapter Twelve

Ryou walked into Lily's apartment building just in time to see her enter the elevator, the metal doors quickly closing behind her. "We just missed her," he whispered sadly. _'But at least we know she's okay,' _he thought to his spirit.

I want to talk to her, Bakura stated firmly. _She has some things to explain... like why she's so late coming home from lunch._ He growled softly, feeling hatred for Kaiba rising inside of him. _Whatever the reason, I'm sure Kaiba's behind it._

'We don't know that for sure,' the British boy replied calmly. _'Something could have easily come up.' _

His yami scoffed at that. _I don't think so, stupid aibou. Kaiba is the reason she's here so late; I'm sure of it._ He crossed his arms, scowling. _Now, get an elevator and take us up to her apartment._ He paused. _Unless you **do** want me to take over._

Ryou mentally shook his head. _'I'll do it.' _He went over to the elevator and pressed the UP button. A minute later, the doors opened, and he entered the small room, wasting no time in pushing the fifth floor button.

'Why are you so curious to see what Lily has been up to? Does it really matter?' he asked his spirit, tone soft.

I can't have her getting herself in trouble, Bakura answered, voice dark and firm. He did not like his hikari asking so many questions. _I might need to use her later._

'If you say so,' Ryou responded, sounding unconvinced. He didn't believe his spirit at all.

The elevator finally stopped at the fifth floor, and the white-haired boy proceeded to walk down the hall toward Lily's room. When he came to her door, he knocked. No one opened the door for him, and he couldn't hear anything going on inside her apartment.

Bakura frowned. _What is going on? She had to have beat us to her room._

'I don't know,' the British-sounding boy replied. _'But I'm worried now.' _He knocked again, but still no one answered. Brown eyes full of worry, he leaned his ear against the door, trying to hear anything. He picked up some sounds but no voices.

I can get us in, the spirit stated, taking over the body; however, he didn't shut his aibou out. He decided not to waste the energy it took. The young boy could still hear and see everything; he just wasn't in charge.

A grin on his face, Bakura pulled out a paper clip and debit card out of his pockets. Then, he proceeded to pick the lock. In seconds, he had the door open. _'That wasn't too hard,' _he thought._ 'Locks really haven't improved over the years.' _

You never told me you could do that, Ryou commented, sounding impressed. He was surprised that he could still see what was going on, but he wasn't about to complain. It was nice, and he decided to enjoy it while it lasted.

'Well, idiotic aibou, you never asked,' the spirit replied, walking into the apartment and closing the door behind him. _'So, it's your own fault.' _He looked around at the living room area and kitchenette, seeing no one; however, he could hear water running. Lily was obviously taking a shower.

That would explain why she didn't answer the door, the British boy pointed out. _She probably couldn't even hear us._

Bakura shrugged. _'We'll certainly find out when she's finished.' _He plopped down on the couch. _'All we have to do is wait.' _

* * *

Lily walked out of the bathroom ten minutes later, dressed in jean shorts and a royal purple tank top, rubbing her damp tresses with a bright blue towel. Sighing contentedly, she went into the laundry room, transferring her clothes from the washer to the dryer. All the soda had thankfully come out.

'I really need to call Bakura now,' Lily thought as she started the dryer. _'Considering how late it is, he's probably wondering what's going on.' __Quite possibly,_ the princess agreed. _I know that I would at least be curious, if not outright worried._

'So would... I.' She blinked in surprise when she walked into the living room. "Bakura?" She almost couldn't believe it. The white-haired boy was sitting on her couch, the look in his brown eyes betraying at least a small amount of anxiety. "How did you get in here?"

He smirked, obviously proud of himself. "I picked the lock. It wasn't hard."

"Wow... cool." Lily smiled, her eyes sparkling with interest. "Do you think you can teach me how to do that?" She looked down at him, teal eyes pleading.

Bakura shrugged, his expression indifferent. _'She certainly is strange. I break into her apartment, and all she does is ask if I can teach her.' _"Maybe once we find the eye and the new item," he replied.

"Thank you!" She hugged him, every movement revealing just how happy she was. "You're great, Bakura."

And here's the part where he gets a big head, Lilian joked, smiling in amusement. _But all joking aside, I used to know how to pick locks. I wasn't all that good at it, but I could do it once... a long time ago._

'Maybe you'll remember more when Bakura gives us lessons,' Lily suggested optimistically.

I hope so. The princess didn't sound as self-assured as her aibou did, but she saw nothing wrong with hoping for the best.

Bakura stood up, looking a little flustered. "I'm guessing you're ready to go searching. At least, you'd better be. We've stalled this search long enough for your little date with Kaiba." He glared at her, but she didn't seem to mind.

"I'm sorry. I kinda lost track of time." Lily gave him a sheepish smile. "I really didn't mean to... promise."

Her look was sincere, so the white-haired boy let it rest at that. "Fine. Let's just get going, now."

She nodded. "Alright." After grabbing a few things off the coffee table, she headed for the door.

* * *

Bakura and Lily searched through the city for a few hours but came up with nothing. There wasn't even a fake signal for them to follow, and Lily's bracelet proved to be useless. The eye was simply too far away for her to sense it.

At about seven in the evening, they called it quits. Lily was tired, and Bakura figured that they had searched long enough. He walked her home, at the insistence of Ryou, and then went back to his apartment, letting his aibou take over the body.

As soon as Lily arrived at her apartment, she grabbed a quick bite to eat and then went to bed, almost immediately falling asleep.

**_Dream Time_**

Lily smiled. Night had finally fallen, and she had an appointment to keep. Moving as silently as possible, she braided her hair in almost complete darkness, threw on her cloak, and pulled on her slippers. _'Now, if I can just make it out of the palace without being seen. Surely it can't be that hard.' _

She crept out of her room, quietly closing the door behind her.

"And where are you going, Tigrililian?"

Lily jumped, her heart immediately beginning to race. Her whole body tense, she spun around, seeing only Hollic standing there. _'This isn't good,' _she thought, fighting back the urge to chew on her bottom lip.

The black-haired woman had her arms crossed, her expression stern and unamused. Her hair was laying around her face perfectly, meaning that she had yet to go to bed, and she was still dressed in her daytime clothes. She probably hadn't even gone to her room yet.

"I'm... ah... just going out to the garden for a while," she answered, smiling nervously.

"Tell me the truth." Of course, Hollic hadn't believed her. Most people could tell when she was lying.

Lily sighed, her smile fading. She had never been able to lie for the life of her, which tended to be a bad thing in so many cases. Somehow, she couldn't even get away with white lies. "I'm sneaking out of the palace, but please don't tell anyone!" she pleaded. "I just want to be free for a while. Please!" _'Dear Isis, let her say it's okay. I don't want to miss my lesson with Bakura.' _

Hollic smiled softly, her eyes kind. "Alright. I may not exactly approve, but I do understand. You miss the days when you could play outside anytime you wanted and relax." She made shooing motions. "Now get going. I'll cover for you if the need arises."

"Thank you!" The blond-haired girl hugged the other woman and then carefully ran off.

Lily made it to the beautiful garden without being seen. Of course, she felt so much better once she was hidden among the trees and flowers. Even though it was easier to keep out of sight, she kept alert as she climbed up and over the wall. Every move she made was carefully calculated, ensuring that she didn't fall back to the ground and alert anyone to her presence.

In moments, she was on the other side of the wall and once again free.

'Yes!' Lily jumped around with joy and stretched before running off toward the meeting place. She deeply breathed in the fresh air, enjoying every smell. It felt so wonderful, being outside the palace. Nothing could compare to it, nothing at all.

She quickly headed toward the crumbling wall she had last seen Bakura at, keeping her eyes open for any patrolling guards. _'I am not going to take any chances,' _she thought. _'I can NOT be caught. Seth would practically kill me.' _

Thankfully, Lily arrived at the meeting place without any problems. She even made it before Bakura did. While she waited for him, she couldn't help but bounce around in excitement. Never in her life had she felt so wonderfully alive.

"Is there a scorpion in your clothes?" a male voice inquired roughly.

The blond-haired girl spun around, her eyes meeting dark brown orbs. "No. There isn't," she told the man, not bothered at all by his tone.

"Then stop jumping around," Bakura snapped impatiently. He was obviously in a bad mood.

Lily frowned in annoyance. "Well, excuse me, Mr. Moody. Just because you're repressed doesn't mean I have to be. When I'm happy, I act it."

"Do you want lessons?" the thief asked.

She nodded. "Yes. Of course I do.

"Then you had better listen to me," he retorted. "Keep acting like that, and you'll stick out like a sore thumb. People will notice you and easily figure out you don't belong out on the streets."

Lily crossed her arms and glared at him stubbornly. "Very well. How am I supposed to act?"

"Not innocent," he answered simply.

She scowled. "Is that all?" she inquired. "Or do I have to act grumpy and rude like you?" In a split second, her found herself on the ground, looking up at an annoyed Bakura. _'I think I might have just pushed him a little too far. Maybe I should cut back on the attitude,' she mused. 'Then again, maybe not. He did ask for it.' _

"First of all, never piss me off. Second, you need to pay attention to everything around you and at least look like you're willing to fight." He paused, watching her stand back up. "I had no problem knocking you down because you weren't prepared in any way. You've lived a pampered life, so you can't do anything for yourself."

"I can to!" Lily protested angrily. "I'm not helpless."_ 'How dare he suggested I'm some worthless little girl! If I was like that, I never would have even made it out of the palace. I did, though, so I am not helpless. I've put up with things he could never dream of. I'm sure that he's never had to sit through hours of boring lessons.' _

Bakura raised an eyebrow. "And what can you do?"

"Well... a lot of things," she answered. _'I probably shouldn't tell him about escaping from the palace. He might figure out that I'm the princess then, and that wouldn't be good. He'd either immediately hate or use me for ransom... maybe both. He is a thief.' _"I can read and write. I know a little about medicine and diplomacy. I can also speak two languages besides Egyptian."

"Big deal. None of that will help you out here." He turned around and began to walk off. "Follow me."

Lily obeyed, walking beside him. "Where are we going?"

"To a place I can show you what you need to know," the white-haired boy answered.

She blinked. _'Okay...' _Unsure about the new development, she pursed her lips._ 'It can't hurt to go with him, I guess,' _she mused. _'If I need to, I can always leave him and return to the palace.' _She grinned. _'Besides, it might be fun.' _

**_End Dream_**

Lily sat up in bed, eyes wide with surprise._ 'Well, that was interesting. I wonder... Where was he taking me?' _

Probably to a place he liked, the princess replied. _I can vaguely remember Bakura taking me to a noisy, fun place all the time. I think he also taught me how to pick pockets, break into houses... and I recall him showing me something to do with a knife._

'Wow. I wonder if I can convince him to teach me how to use a knife. He already said he might teach me how to pick a lock.' The curly blond laid back down in bed, eyes staring up at the ceiling as she thought of Bakura and of Ryou.

Both spirit and aibou were quiet for a while, simply enjoying the peace of the dark night. Eventually, Lily came up with a question. _'Lilian, how can two people who look almost exactly the same be such opposites?' _

Tigrililian shrugged. _I don't know, but I have a feeling that we'll eventually find out. Perhaps I once knew why Bakura acted the way he did, but I've forgotten by now._

'Maybe you'll remember if I keep having these dreams,' the young girl suggested.

The princess smiled. _Maybe._

* * *

CotA: Sorry it took so long to update, but my beta reader is busy, so this thing still hasn't been looked over yet. I'm sure she'll get back to me as soon as she can, but until then, bear with all the errors that I probably missed when proof-reading. Oh, and the review response is below.

Sam-chan: Ouch. Being sick bites. I hate it so much. And I love the thought of the evil person tripping the waiter and thinking, "I will trip you and you will spill ice cold soda down that girl's shirt! Muyhahahahaha." It was so funny. I couldn't help but laugh.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Ryou tossed and turned, trying to get to sleep. Because of a few circumstances, he just couldn't get comfortable. He was either too hot or too cold, his pillow wasn't soft enough, or the mechanical whining of his clock was too loud. Of course, perhaps the biggest reason he couldn't sleep was because his spirit was singing "Ninety-Nine Bottles of Beer on the Wall."

_'Where did you learn that song?'_ the British boy inquired softly, hoping he could find a way to make his yami shut up. He desperately wanted some sleep.

_From you, annoying aibou,_ Bakura replied simply before going back to the song. _Fifty-one bottles of beer on the wall, fifty-one bottles of beer. You take one down, pass it around... fifty bottles of beer on the wall._

Putting his hands over his ears, Ryou gave a small mental scream. He almost couldn't take it anymore, and he couldn't find a single way to block out the singing. _'Please! Stop!'_ he pleaded.

The spirit paused for a moment, as if thinking it over. Finally, he gave a shrug. _You take one down, pass it around... forty-nine bottles of beer on the wall. Forty-nine bottles of beer on the wall, forty-nine bottles of beer._

Finally, the young boy could take no more. "Shut up!" he screamed out loud without even knowing it. A split second later, he realized just what he had done. He had yelled at his spirit... his very dangerous spirit.

Bakura merely laughed. He wasn't quite sure why, but he wasn't angry. So, to cover up his lack of knowledge, he made something up off the top of his head. _So, my stupid aibou, you finally figured out how to stand up for yourself. Good. By Ra, it took you long enough. I hate having such a weak hikari._

Ryou blinked._ 'What?' _

The yami rolled his eyes. _Did you not understand me the first time? I said I was tired of you acting so pathetic. You needed to show a little backbone_, he replied, stretching. _I guess I can shut up and let you sleep now._

The British boy was quiet for a few moments, unsure of how to react. Eventually, he came to a decision. _'Thank you, Bakura,' _he said with a soft smile.

Bakura didn't reply at all, but Ryou didn't care. The young boy merely yawned, curled up under his covers, and fell asleep.

**_Dream time_**

Ryou growled in annoyance as he stormed out of the inn. Rellen and the whore had woken him up early with all their yelling and screaming. Obviously something had gone wrong with their relationship, something to do with payment. He didn't really care why they had been fighting; he had just wanted them to shut up. Unfortunately, they hadn't, so he had been forced to wake up and lay in bed until the sun set. _'When I get back, I'm going to give both of those idiots an earful. I'm going to teach them to never, EVER wake me up again!' _

He adjusted his robes and slowly made his way towards the meeting spot where Lilian was supposed to be. Of course, he made a few detours in some houses, leaving each one with at least a few gems or gold. So many people were stupid enough to rely on the guards that roamed the streets, and since they were stupid, he took advantage of them... if only to teach them a lesson about protecting their belongings.

A little while after the moon had reached its highest point, he arrived at the crumbling wall. He had half expected the girl not to be there, but she had somehow made it. What grated on his nerves even more was seeing her bounce around like a small child with a new toy. _'When I'm in a bad mood, the thing I hate the most is a happy person,'_he thought, balling one of his fists._ 'It's time to put a damper on her mood.' _

"Is there a scorpion in your clothes?" Ryou inquired in a rough.

The blond-haired girl spun around, her teal eyes meeting his. "No. There isn't," she told him. She didn't seem bothered at all by his tone, which surprised and annoyed him.

"Then stop jumping around," he snapped impatiently._ 'She is not improving my mood.' _

Lilian frowned in annoyance. "Well, excuse me, Mr. Moody. Just because you're repressed doesn't mean I have to be. When I'm happy, I act it."

"Do you want lessons?" Ryou asked, his eyes focused on her._ 'If she answers yes, I can give her an earful; if she says no, I can punch her and leave,'_ he thought smugly. Either way, he got to torment the girl and give her a piece of what he was feeling.

She nodded. "Yes. Of course I do."

"Then you had better listen to me," he retorted, already feeling a little better. "Keep acting like that, and you'll stick out like a sore thumb. People will notice you and easily figure out you don't belong out on the streets."

Lilian crossed her arms and glared at him stubbornly. "Very well. How am I supposed to act?"

"Not innocent," he answered simply, figuring that she'd only be able to understand short, uncomplicated responses. After all, rich girls were supposed to be pampered and stupid.

She scowled. "Is that all?" she inquired. "Or do I have to act grumpy and rude like you?"

_'That's it! I have had it with her. No one judges me!'_ he mentally growled out, swinging out a foot in a sweeping motion, aiming at her ankles. He easily knocked her to the ground, leaving her to stare up at him in surprise._ 'Now, it's lesson time.' _

"First of all, never piss me off. Second, you need to pay attention to everything around you and at least look like you're willing to fight." Ryou paused, watching her stand back up. He wanted to make sure she was listening. "I had no problem knocking you down because you weren't prepared in any way. You've lived a pampered life, so you can't do anything for yourself."

"I can to!" Lilian protested angrily. "I'm not helpless."

Bakura raised an eyebrow. _'Not helpless? By Ra, that's a good one. I don't think I've ever heard such a horrible lie.'_ "And what can you do?"

"Well... a lot of things," she answered. "I can read and write. I know a little about medicine and diplomacy. I can also speak two languages besides Egyptian."

_'She's not telling me everything, but... it's probably only another one of the boring lessons she was taught by some stuffed-shirt. I didn't want to hear about it anyway,'_ he thought with a mental shrug. "Big deal. None of that will help you out here." He turned around and began to walk off. "Follow me."

Lilian obeyed, walking beside him. "Where are we going?"

"To a place I can show you what you need to know," the white-haired boy answered._ 'I'm going to enjoy seeing how she reacts to one of my favorite places.' _He gave a silent chuckle when he noticed that she kept on following him, an innocent, curious expression on her face._ 'Like a lamb to the slaughter.' _

Grinning, Ryou led Lilian down a few streets and towards a darker side of the city.

**_End Dream_**

Ryou yawned and stretched as he awoke, his mind still on the dream. 'Now that was strange,' he thought, rubbing his eyes. _'I really should talk to Lily about these dreams. After all, she's in them, and she might just know what's going on.' _He paused so he could yawn again._ 'Now that I think about it, they didn't start until after I met her. Strange...' _

_They're just dreams_, Bakura snapped. _You'd do best to forget them_. Even though he liked seeing his memories of his past (He knew they just had to be his memories.), he hated the fact that his hikari could see them as well. Memories were personal things, something that was not supposed to be shared with another person... such as his aibou.

The young boy frowned, sitting up and placing his arms on his knees. 'I'm not so sure,' he replied softly, still partially lost in thought. _'The girl in my dream... Lilian... she looks almost exactly like Lily, and Lily's spirit is named Lilian.' _

_She's named Princess Tigrililian_, the spirit retorted. _And besides, it's not like a princess could just sneak out of a palace to visit a thief. It just wouldn't happen._ _'Maybe you're right,'_ Ryou replied after considering his yami's logic. Princesses didn't escape from palaces in the middle of the night to take lessons from a criminal.

Bakura snorted and shook his head. _Of course I'm right. Now, go back to sleep and forget about your silly notion of talking to Lily about your dreams._

Ryou didn't reply. He had already fallen asleep.

* * *

Lily sipped at the cup of hot tea she held in her hands, her teal eyes gazing out the window at all the lights. There were so many, reminding her of the star-filled sky above. It was so beautiful, and she felt peaceful just sitting in the dark, staring at the many lights.

A small smile played across her lips as she traced the rim of the cup with one finger. "The color of the tea is the same as Ryou Bakura's eyes," she whispered softly, giggling.

_You sound like a love-sick teenage girl,_ Tigrililian commented with a chuckle. _I've never heard you talk in such a way. It's amusing._ Lily blushed. _'I was merely making a simple observation. There is no reason for you to make such an assumption on so little information,'_ she replied quietly.

The princess broke down laughing. _You really need to go back to bed. You're so tired, you're beginning to talk like my instructors wanted me to._

_'Alright.' _She stood up, finished off her hot tea, and then went back to bed, falling asleep almost instantly.

**_Dream Time_**

Bakura led Lily to a small tavern, pausing by the entrance.

"Bakura..." She hung back, not liking the appearance of the noisy building. It looked rundown and dangerous--a place her brother would never allow her to go... ever. "Where have you brought me?" _'This looks like a really bad place to be.' _"A tavern. What does it look like?" he snapped.

Lily almost smacked him for his attitude but restrained herself._ 'He can be such a jerk.' _"Well, excuse me for not being a common lowlife."

Bakura growled at her. "Unless you want to end up dead, I suggest you not talk like that," he retorted angrily, brown eyes flashing dangerously.

"I think someone had a bad day," she muttered._ 'That, or he just plain feels like being mean. I'm betting on the former though. Something tells me he's in a bad mood for a reason.' _

He opened the door, an evil look on his face. "Enjoy." Without any warning, he shoved her inside.

Lily stumbled into the room and gasped at the sight that greeted her eyes. About thirty men lounged around tables, drinking and playing betting games. Some men had already passed out on the floor, probably from too much alcohol. Women wearing see-through shirts and skirts walked around, serving the males and leading some out of the room. The hot room smelled like cheap alcohol and sweat, and the floors were filthy.

She found the tavern completely different from what she was used to, and even though she hated the smell, the place intrigued her. Never in her life had she seen so many people gathered together in the dirtiest situation, simply having fun.

"Are you just going to stand there like an idiot?" Bakura inquired as he came up beside her, voice a whisper. He didn't really need to be so quiet, considering how loud the room was, but she guessed he was trying to keep people from guessing that she didn't really belong in the tavern.

"I don't know what to do. I'm not a guy, and I'm_ not_ joining the ranks of those serving girls," she replied firmly, her voice just as soft. "They probably double as whores."

"It's simple," he informed her. "You get a drink and join in on one of the games, unless you want to act like my pet while we're here." He smirked, obviously enjoying himself.

Lily scowled at him, but before she could respond, someone called out to her teacher.

"Hey, Bakura!" a man shouted from across the room, beckoning for the white-haired boy to approach him.

The thief grinned. "I suggest you decide now," he told her quietly. "Because the first thing he's going to ask is if I know you."

Lily quickly went over her options._ 'I could just leave, but I want to keep learning from him. I don't want anything to drink, and I don't have a clue as to how to play any betting games, so I can't do that. There's no way I can just stand here; I would stick out too much. It seems I have only one option left.' _She gave him a small smile, trying to look like she was at least a little interested in him, just to convince everyone around her. If she was going to act like she was with Bakura, then she was going to make everyone believe it, no matter what it took.

"I'll go with you," she told him.

"Alright, but you have to listen to me and do anything I say," Bakura replied.

She snorted. _'There is no way. I'd eat fire before I'd agree to that,' _she thought. "I'll obey some orders, but not all."

"Fine, but they'll suspect something if you don't obey me all the time." He shrugged and walked over to the table. Lily, of course, followed.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" the man asked Bakura.

The white-haired boy nodded. "I've been busy stealing, Anub."

"Stealing girls hearts obviously!" He laughed loudly. "Although why you chose to bring her, I don't know. She's covered from head to foot. You can't see her body!"

_'He makes it sound like being decently dressed is an outrage.' _Lily scowled at him. "Just because I don't feel like revealing myself to you doesn't mean I'm not pretty," she snapped in anger. No one insulted her like that.

"Lilian..." Bakura whispered in a warning tone. She ignored him.

"Prove it, little girl." All the men at the table immediately roared with laughter, enjoying the scene.

"Fine," she retorted, eyes blazing. _'What a jerk!' _Then, she threw off her cloak, tossing it onto an empty chair.

Everyone stared, but that didn't bother Lily. She was used to that, mainly because she was a princess.

"Well?" she inquired, giving them a pointed look. No one said a word; even Bakura seemed to be a little speechless.

"Damn!" one man eventually cried out, grinning from ear to ear. "You're built like Isis."

Lily blushed slightly. No one had ever said anything like that about her body. She had only received polite comments about her beauty, which usually compared her to some exotic flower.

Another male whistled appreciatively. "If you ever tire of Bakura, I'll pay you real good to share my bed."

"She's not interested," Bakura immediately stated, glaring at the man.

"Why don't you let her answer for herself?" the first one retorted.

Lily stared at him in shock._ 'He's actually propositioning me to become his bedmate!' _Her blush darkened. "I don't think so."

"Aw... look. You embarrassed the flower." Anub chuckled. "How sweet." He looked at Bakura. "You've found a gem here. She's got a lovely face, a great body, and she's innocent enough to stick by you."

"Are you done talking about me as if I'm some kind of possession?" Lily inquired, tone sharp and reprimanding. "I'm a person, after all, not some trinket."

All the men, even Bakura, almost instantly began to roar with laughter. "Ra, that's a good one. I don't think I've ever heard anything so funny," one of the men stated, tears in his brown eyes. "A woman... in this bar... not a possession?" He had to spit the sentence out between his peals of laughter.

She growled softly, teal eyes flashing in anger._ 'Jerks! Who gave them the right to treat me so?!'_ She almost stomped her foot and shouted at them, but a hand on her arm stopped her just in time.

Bakura leaned toward her, putting his mouth right by her ear. "Relax," he whispered. "Act like you're mine."

Lily mentally groaned in annoyance but nodded in compliance. _'I do not want them to find out who I am. I doubt they'd recognize me. After all, half of them are intoxicated. Of course, it probably helps that I rarely ever go outside the palace.' _"As you wish," she whispered in his ear, earning a devilish grin from him. _'I don't think I should have said that,' _she thought, frowning slightly.

The white-haired man turned to his friends. "You guys got room for an extra player?" he asked, sitting down in the chair with Lily's cloak.

Anub nodded, a grin splitting his face. "We always got room for you."

"Good." Bakura suddenly pulled Lily into his lap, nuzzling her neck as he whispered a few words to her. "Just sit here and look pretty. Don't say a whole lot, and don't let them bait you. You don't want them finding out you're a spoiled rich lady. They'd probably kill you if they found out."

Lily nodded, biting her tongue. The instant he had pulled her into his lap, her whole body had stiffened. She wasn't used to being seated on someone's lap or being held by someone. Sure, she gave and received hugs, but that was different. Hugs were friendly gestures, meaning only to comfort or express joy. The way he was holding her meant something entirely different.

"And relax," he quietly ordered her before turning his attention to the other men at the table. "Alright. Let's begin."

* * *

CotA: Sorry for taking so long to update people. I really didn't mean to do that. ::winces:: Well, here are the review responses.

sam-chan: Yes, you're amusing. And I like it when Bakura acts possessive as well. It's just too bad that the possessiveness is pretty much useless when it comes to Lily.

Sakura onto Hitomi: It's okay. You don't need to apologize. ::hugs Sakura-chan:: After all, it's basically my fault for becoming so impatient and posting the chappie before you sent it back.

Hutchy: You'll eventually learn what happened in Bakura's past.


	14. Chapter 14

Stolen Hearts Across Time

Chapter 14

_**Dream Time (continued)**_

Lily looked down at the game board on the table. It reminded her of Nine Men's Morris, but it looked bigger... different. Instead of just two colors of pieces, there were five colors--black, white, brown, red, and green. A small pile of white stones sat on the table in front of Bakura, and she picked one up, curious as to what it was for.

"What are you going to play?" she inquired, setting the piece back down.

Anub grinned. "Our version of Nine Men's Morris. Since we are all so competitive, we place bets on who will win or how many mills someone will get," he answered.

"Aren't there supposed to be only two colors?" Lily asked, pointing at all the different colored stones.

Bakura laughed. "Do you honestly think we wouldn't change the game so we could all play?" His tone was condescending and arrogant.

She crossed her arms in annoyance._ 'He is such a jerk. I'm not sure the lessons are worth putting up with him.' _"I just don't know your game, but that's probably because it's so pathetic no one wants to talk about it," she retorted.

Anub and the man next to him roared with laughter once again. "She's a little spitfire, she is," a man stated, his black eyes roaming up and down her body, earning a glare from her. "I'd love to have a girl like her." He grinned. "So, Bakura, how is she in bed?"

Lily instantly turned bright red, her teal eyes wide with surprise. Without thinking, she reached across the table and smacked him. "You have no right to ask such a question!" she snapped, tone laced with anger and embarrassment.

The men simply laughed, even the one she had slapped. Fuming at their attitude, she prepared to slap one of them, but Bakura caught her arm.

"No," he whispered in her ear. "Now's not the time to act all high and mighty. You are supposed to be my pet, my bed-warmer. At least try to act like it... unless you're too stupid to do something like that."

She growled at him. _'Fine. I accept the challenge. I'll act like the perfect little pet and prove I'm not stupid.' _An evil glint in her eyes, she turned, brushing her lips against Bakura's. "Sorry about my temper-tantrum, love; I just don't like people prying into our private life."

Bakura's eyes drastically widened and his jaw temporarily dropped. It took him a mere second to snap out of his shock and narrow his eyes at her. "What are you up to?" he quietly hissed in her ear as the other men chuckled, obviously unaware of what was really going on.

_'Now that face is priceless,'_ Lily thought, giggling. "Acting like you want me to, of course," she replied

quietly, smiling deviously. She turned her attention back to the game. "So, if this is like Nine Men's

Morris, who goes first?"

She knew how to play the basic game. The players took turns putting their pieces on the board, trying to form three in a row. Once all the players put all their pieces down, they began moving them, space by space. Whenever a player put three of his pieces in a row either horizontally or vertically (in other words, created a mill), he could take one of his opponent's pieces off the board. A player was disqualified as soon as he had only two pieces remaining or became unable to move anything. The last player remaining won.

"Since you're new to this game, we'll let you and Bakura go first. It's only fair," Anub replied, bracing his elbows on the table as he laced his fingers together. "You two are going to need every advantage you can get."

Lily scowled at him. "We're going to win," she stated firmly, easily hiding her uncertainty. It had been ages since she had played Nine Men's Morris, so she wasn't quite sure if she could win; however, for the sake of the conversation, she was going to defeat them all. _'I cannot lose to these men; although, it would be nice to know just how good they are or what strategies they use.'_

Expression unwavering, she picked up a piece and set it down in the middle of the board. The others, Anub, Mekh, Gaib, and Osik quickly went as well, creating a loose circle about her piece.

_'They're ganging up against me,' _Lily mused, narrowing her eyes slightly. _'How dare they?! I'll crush them for this. Don't they know how to play fair?'_ She mentally shook her head, silently scolding herself. _'How stupid am I? I'm outside the palace. People aren't going to coddle me, treat me fairly, or give me the respect my station demands. Here, they see me as some little female, a trinket. Of course they'd gang up on me. It seems I'll just have to show them I'm not as stupid or helpless as they think.' _

She picked up another piece and went to set it down, but a voice in her ear stopped her. "Not there,"

Bakura told her quietly. "Unless you want to lose, put it here." He reached out, taking the piece from her and placing it where he wanted.

"But I think it'd go better there, Bakura!" Lily protested, frowning at the white-haired man.

"Let the girl do as she wishes," Mekh recommended. He didn't seem to harbor any bad feelings toward Lily for the slap she had bestowed upon him. "That way, you can lecture her when she loses and prove to her that women just can't play games."

She huffed at that. "I will make you eat your words, that I promise you." She debated moving the piece, but she suddenly noticed that Bakura had placed it in a better spot than she had. Blushing slightly and leaving the piece where it was, she watched the other men put their pieces on.

Lily took a slow breath, studying the board._ 'I need to create a mill, but they've blocked off one of my pieces. My other piece is almost completely blocked off. How can I stop them from creating mills and make some of my own?' _She chewed delicately on her bottom lip, trying to decide on where to put her piece.

Bakura put an arm around her waist, gently squeezing. "Hurry up," he recommended. "They'll grow impatient unless you go soon. You don't want to see them impatient."

"Don't rush me, love," she retorted softly before looking up at her opponents. "I'm thinking, which you boys seemed to have forgotten how to do considering how you all go so quickly." _'There, take that!'_

"That, or we actually know how to play the game," Gaib retorted evenly. He was one of the few men in the entire tavern that hadn't had anything to drink. He wasn't drunk in the least, which meant he had an alert mind.

_'He's going to be my biggest problem,_' she thought, teal eyes focusing on the board. After a few moments, she put down the piece. When Bakura said nothing, she let out a breath she hadn't known she had been holding.

As soon as everyone had all the pieces down, the men began to place bets on who would win, except Bakura. He remained quiet and no one betted on her. _'I'll just have to prove to them that I can play and that they should not underestimate me,' _she thought as the game continued.

In the middle of the game, right before Lily's turn, Bakura placed his bet... on Lily winning. She blinked in surprise, turning around to look at him.

"You actually think I'm going to win?" she inquired, a small smile on her face. _'It seems that someone finally believes in me,'_ she mused happily.

"With my help you will," he replied with a smirk.

Her face fell. "Well, thank you for your confidence," she spat back, crossing her arms and pouting. _'What a jerk.' _

"You're a beginner; I'm an expert," Bakura whispered in her ear, a dangerous edge to his voice. "Accepting my help won't kill you, and there is no way I'm going to let you lose my money."

Lily sighed_. 'He does have a point. I don't want him to lose his money, especially if I'm the cause. If I do, he might not give me any more lessons.' _She nodded her head, her entire body tense. "Okay."

"Good," he replied, voice still quiet. "Now we have to make this look like we're two lovers playing a game together."

She smiled softly, hiding her true feelings. "I hope you know," she whispered back to him, "that I'm only agreeing to this because I don't want them to find out what I am."

Bakura didn't reply. He merely covered her hand with his and had her move one of the white pieces on the board. After the turn, he didn't remove his hand; he simply held onto it, obviously trying to keep up the act.

The game heated up from that point on, and the bets increased at least every other turn. While Mekh, Gaib,

Osik, and Anub grew nervous and uptight, Lily and the white-haired boy remained calm. Slowly, ever so slowly, Bakura and Lily began to win. Mekh lost first, and then Osik and Anub quickly followed. Gaib was the only one left, but he was not doing as good as his opponent; he had only three pieces left, while she (and Bakura, of course) had five.

Lily grinned_. 'We're going to win,'_ she thought happily as Bakura guided her hand to create another mill. She immediately removed one of Gaib's pieces, leaving him with only two.

"You lost," Bakura stated. "We won, so I believe you all owe me some money."

She clapped her hands, smiling for all she was worth. It had been ages since she had spent some time simply playing a fun game. The only game she had played in years had been senet, and that was because it had religious purposes.

As the other men paid up, Lily put all the white pieces back in a pile. "Can we play again?" she inquired, tone light and happy. She didn't mind the fact that the thief had helped her, that she was still sitting on his lap. She merely wanted to have some more fun.

"Not tonight, little princess," Gaib replied, and she stiffened slightly.

_'Oh my... Isis help me. He must know,'_ she thought, forcing her worry down. She didn't want anyone else to notice how she had reacted and come to the correct conclusion. Gaib was probably the only one who knew.

She studied Gaib's face and came to a different conclusion. _'He doesn't know. If he did, he wouldn't look so relaxed and friendly still. I think he merely called me that pet name because he felt like it. At least, I hope so.'_

"I'm broke, as I believe Anub is as well." Mekh stood up, stretching. "I'm going home now." The others quickly echoed that statement.

"Alright." Lily climbed off Bakura's lap in slow motions, unsure about whether it looked like she was reluctant or simply slow. "Perhaps we can play tomorrow." She saw the thief roll his eyes, causing her to grit her teeth. He was making fun of her again, the jerk.

Bakura stood as well while she tossed on her cloak. "We're heading out now as well. Take care, and may you always be one step ahead of the guards." They nodded in agreement.

Then, before Lily could say or do anything else, Bakura grabbed her hand and dragged her outside. He pulled her down a few side streets, not stopping until they were quite a distance from the tavern.

Suddenly, he released her and pushed her against a wall. He put one hand on each side of her head, bracing himself against the wall as he leaned close to her. "Why did you react when he called you princess?" he hissed, dark eyes flashing in anger.

She fidgeted nervously for a moment, unsure how to answer him. She couldn't tell him that she was the princess, although the chance of him believing her was slim. _'He's a little too close for my liking at the moment,' _she thought. Biting on her bottom lip for a moment, she decided to answer him the best way she knew how. "Daddy used to call me that before he died. He called me his cute princess."

Bakura growled. "If any of them had been paying any attention to you, they would have noticed and easily figured out you're some kind of noble. They don't like nobles."

"And you don't seem to either," Lily retorted. "But it's not my fault that I was born in the position I'm in now. Do you honestly think I like being a noble?" she shot back, frowning at him. _'Why does he think it's so great being rich and everything else? It's not like it makes my life any happier than his.'_

He backed off, finally giving her some space. Glaring at her for a moment, he crossed his arms over his chest. "Spoiled brat," he spat out, scowling darkly. "Do you really think I'm going to believe such a pathetic lie?"

She bristled. "I'm not lying!" she shouted, stomping her foot in aggravation. "For the love of Isis, why does everyone think being a noble is so great?! I'm stuck indoors almost all day and told what to do. I have to deal with things I hate, and I have no freedom. I'm not allowed to do what I want, when I want, and everyone expects me to act perfectly all the time. The instant I mess up, my big brother scolds me and usually punishes me. I hate my life!"

Lily clasped her hands over her mouth, finally realizing that she had been screaming at the thief. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to lash out at you."_ 'And I don't hate my life. I just wish I had more freedom.' _She mentally sighed.

"Overdramatic spoiled brat," Bakura stated, shaking his head.

"What?" She blinked in surprise, unsure how to take his new attitude. His expression was different as well; he appeared to be almost amused.

"Overdramatic spoiled brat," he repeated, smirking at her. "You're an idiot if you can't enjoy all the pampering you receive."

_'He really and truly didn't get a thing I said.'_ Lily shook her head. "You don't understand. I love the people around me, but I hate not having any freedom. I used to be able to roam around and have fun, but that's all been taken away from me now. I'm pretty much a prisoner in a fancy cell with exceptionally kind jailers."

Bakura snorted. "By Ra, you are an idiot," he stated. "Grow up." He began walking off.

She growled at him. "Who do you think you are, ordering me around?!" she exclaimed. "And I'm not an idiot!" _'And how dare he walk away from me when we're talking! Why doesn't he just grow up?!' _She ran after him, grabbing his arm and forcing him to look at her. "And do you think anyone can grow up when everything is pretty much done for them? The only thing I'm capable of doing on my own is passing my lessons, and I hate it."

He wrenched his arm out of her grip. "Stop acting like a child," he ordered. "And do not grab me like that again."

Glaring at him, Lily grabbed his arm a second time hen he turned away from her. "You stop acting like a child and try to see things from a different point of view," she retorted. "Do you think that a noble life is perfect? How would you like someone ordering you around all day? I have to be in certain places at certain times, and if I'm late, I'm punished. I'm told who I'm going to marry and when, and I have no say in the matter. Normal choices are taken out of my hands, and I can't do a thing about it."

Bakura opened his mouth to say something, but she cut him off. "I'm sick and tired of acting as if I accept everything with open arms. Right now, I'm happiest when I'm outside the walls of my prison and here with you. I've never been able to go into a tavern and play a game simply for the fun of it. You say I'm an idiot, probably because you think I take the things I have for granted, but then you're an idiot as well. You have freedom, and you take it for granted. I would give anything to have what you have."

He shook his head, pale hair falling over his shoulders as his bangs hid his eyes from view. "Then you are even a bigger idiot than I thought." He pried her hand off his arm. "Go back to your palace and the pharaoh, Princess Tigrililian."

_**End Dream**_

Lily shot up in bed, her eyes wide. For some reason, her heart had almost seemed to stop. _'Dear Kami, that was unusual.' _

_You are merely dreaming of my past. I about had a heart attack when I realized that Bakura had figured out who I was,_ Tigrililian replied softly.

_'What did he do? Did he ransom you off or anything?'_ the young girl wanted to know.

The princess shrugged. _I don't know._

Lily sighed, glancing out the window. Clouds filled the sky and covered up the sun, much to her disappointment. _'Things in the past were so strange, and I don't think I could take such a restricting life-style either. Even I like being able to make my own decisions.'_

_As do I. _Lilian paused. _Perhaps we should prepare ourselves for going out to look for the items_, she advised.

The curly blonde nodded her head_. 'Yeah. We should, but how would you feel about heading out early and getting some shopping done? I know that you wanted some dresses and skirts.' _

_I would enjoy that,_ the princess replied, smiling.

_'Alright, let's go!' _

---------------------

The woman sighed, her dark eyes flashing in annoyance. "This is boring," she muttered. "She's just walking around and shopping, the little twit." She flopped down in her armchair. "And at this point, there's no way attacking her soul room is going to do any good. She'll be able to protect herself, and it'll only make a stupid scene that'll leave her the center of attention once again."

She idly fingered the eye of Horus that was engraved on her knife. "Perhaps I should try something different then. Attacking someone else just might prove more advantageous than bothering her, and I know the perfect person. After all, it's her own fault for growing so attached to him."

She grinned. "Yes, I think killing him will not only help me in destroying the damn princess, but it should also improve my mood. Besides, I didn't even like the bastard in the past."

Standing up, she twirled the blade, an evil glint sparkling in her eyes. "I think I'll wait a little bit though. I want to catch the bastard off guard. Yes, then it'll be bye-bye for him."

Dark laughter filled the room, the menacing sound bouncing off the walls as if they even found it so evil that they had to reject it. "And then poor Lily will have nothing to do but go home and miss him."

With practiced ease, she threw a dart at a new dartboard and picture--an image of a young boy with kind eyes.

"Good-bye, bastard."

---------------------

"'Morning, Bakura," Yugi called out as the white-haired boy entered the game shop, smiling bright at his friend. "How's everything going with Lily? Are you meeting her here?" He was definitely curious, especially since he hadn't seen either one of them since the day before yesterday. Plenty of things could change in two days.

Ryou nodded, admiring a few items on the shelves before walking up to the front counter and leaning his elbows on it. "Everything's fine, although we haven't found anything yet, and we decided it would be best to meet here in a few hours. I figured it couldn't hurt to come by and see how you're doing, maybe have a small practice duel for the fun of it."

"Sure. As soon as Grandpa gets out of the back room, we can play," the short boy replied, eyes sparkling in anticipation. "And maybe when Lily gets here, she can play too."

The other boy smiled softly, brown eyes gaining a strange look at the mentioning of the girl's name.

"Yeah. That'd be fun."

---------------------

Lily dumped all her new clothes in her apartment. _'I don't think Dad is going to be pleased with me, but I think I can make him understand why I just bought so many new clothes. You favor skirts while I like pants and shorts.' _She smoothed out the pair of shorts that gave a whole new meaning to the term minuscule and the lilac tank top she sported at the moment.

_If not, I can speak with him. I'm sure that he'll believe me,_ Tigrililian replied. _It's not as if I_

_would even infinitesimally comfortable in those clothes you prefer._

The young female giggled like a schoolgirl. "Probably not," she admitted out loud, grinning. "But, since it is getting close to lunch, how about we grab a bite to eat and then head over to Yugi's game shop? We promised to meet Ryou there at twelve-thirty or so."

_Hm... you are correct on that account._ The princess turned thoughtful for a moment. _Actually, I would enjoy heading over there early to talk to Yugi as well as Yami. I'm hoping he might recall something about my past, especially if I describe some _**_incidences_**_ from _**_our_**_dreams._

_'Sounds like a plan.'_ Then, Lily began fixing herself a quick lunch.

---------------------

"Your turn, Bakura," Yugi said as he finished attacking.

"Alright." Ryou drew a card and was about ready to place another monster on the field when he felt immense pain ripple through him, causing him to drop his hand and clutch at his head. _'What in the--' He_ was in so much pain he couldn't even finish the thought. Then, he fell to the floor, still clutching his head as he curled up in a small ball.

"Bakura!" Yugi shouted, dropping his hand as he knelt on the floor to check on his friend. The boy was pale, his skin suddenly matching his hair color. "I'm going to call the ambulance. Just hang on, Bakura!"

The violet-eyed boy jumped up and ran to the phone, quickly dialing the emergency number.

---------------------

"What is this?" Bakura hissed out, the pain rippling through him as he watched his soul room shake and crack as if it was some kind of earthquake. He heard his aibou call out, screaming in pain, but there wasn't anything he could do. He was doing good to merely stay awake to keep his soul room intact. "Damn

hikari."

"Help!" Ryou pleaded, wanting the pain to end more than anything. His soul room was shaking as well, the many items flying across the room as the magical quake tossed him about the area. He ended up flying into a corner, his dresser slamming into him a moment later.

The British boy screamed in pain, curling up into a tiny ball as the dresser went flying across the room.

He was nothing more than a mass of agony, and he wanted it all to end. Even if it took death to do that, he wanted the pain to end. "HELP!" he screamed again.

No help came.

---------------------

Yugi watched nervously as Bakura was taken away by the EMTs, his eyes dark with worry. His grandfather was nearby, watching with a somber expression. Because they weren't family, they couldn't ride in the ambulance with the white-haired boy, but they would be able to check up on him later. That was their only consolation.

_'What happened?'_ Yugi wondered, frowning. _'Why did he suddenly curl up and clutch at his head? He acted like he was in such pain, but I can't think about what could have caused it.' _

_It came upon him so suddenly that I am not sure what disease could have struck him,_ Yami replied, anxiety in his tone as well. _I have never seen anything like it, and that worries me. Never in my life have I ever even heard of something that could cripple someone so quickly without warning._

_'Yeah, it's scary,'_ the short boy replied, closing his eyes as he prayed for his friend. _'I hope Bakura will be okay.' _

The pharaoh nodded his head in agreement. _So do I._

---------------------

Lily paused as she watched the ambulance drive by, the lights flashing and the siren blaring. Her entire body frozen as a sense of dread filled her, she fought off the desire to run after the emergency vehicle. _'I think I'm becoming paranoid.' _She shook her head, resuming her brisk pace.

I am not so sure. Ever since we came to this town, things have been going wrong. We ran into those gangsters twice, and then we were lead on wild goose chases. We were also magically attacked twice,

Tigrililian reminded her hikari. _I highly doubt anything is going to improve until we find the person with this new item._

The curly blonde mentally nodded her head in agreement. _'You're probably right, but let's just get to the game shop. I'll feel better once I see that Yugi and Ryou are perfectly fine.'_

_You're just concerned about Ryou because you haven't seen him in the last eight hours,_ the princess teased, trying to lighten the mood. She didn't like it when her aibou became worried, because that meant things truly were bad. _You REALLY like him, don't you?_

Lily blushed, although she tried to hide that fact from her yami. She failed miserably. _'Maybe_,' she answered; however, she knew that the spirit saw through the little lie.

_Yes, you really, really, really like him._ Lilian grinned. _You really should just admit these things instead of lying to yourself. It's not healthy._

_'I think it's partly because I keep seeing him in my dreams. It's like I'm really getting to know him, even though I know it's kind of a lie,'_ she replied, twirling a curl around her finger._ 'And I'm hoping that after we've retrieved the eye for Dad... well, I'd like to go out on a date with him, or at least try to. I know how Dad views that particular topic.' _She sighed. _'He doesn't want me associating with anyone he doesn't approve of, and the only people he approves of are all stuffy, overly-polite people who really don't know how to have fun.' _

_I believe you called them sticks in the mud,_ the princess commented with a musical laugh that reminded the young girl of tinkling bells.

_'Yeah. Sticks in the mud._' She mentally nodded her head in agreement as she reached the game shop.

The instant Lily entered, she found Yugi standing behind the counter, looking far too somber for her liking. He had an elbow on the counter, his head propped up on his hand. Worry filled his normally sparkling violet eyes, and his mouth was turned down in a frown.

"What's wrong?" she inquired, hurrying over to the short male. She bit down on her bottom lip as he looked up at her with his sad eyes.

"Bakura had to go to the hospital," he answered softly. "Grandpa's in the back on our personal line, calling to find out which one he's at."

Lily's eyes widened as she felt her stomach plummet and her heart twist painfully in her chest, as if someone was yanking on it. "What happened? Why'd he have to go to the hospital? Is he sick? Did he fall down or something?" She frantically rambled off more questions, completely panicking. She already had one person she cared about in the hospital; she didn't want another one there too. "Please tell me that it isn't anything serious."

Yugi quickly took in her pleading expression as her eyes became overly bright. She really did care about

Bakura, and he could see it just by looking at her. "I don't know. We were dueling, and he suddenly starting clutching his head. He fell to the floor, pale as a sheet. When the ambulance arrived, he was shaking, as if he was having seizures or something."

She immediately paled. "Oh dear Kami," she whispered. "If he's suffering from what I think he is, then the hospital won't be able to help him." _'We have to get to him NOW'_ she thought, pure anxiety filling her.

Fear trickled into her heart, worming its way into her mind. She didn't want to lose Ryou. He was such a wonderful guy, and she cared about Bakura too. Both boys were so important to her, and not just because they were helping her.

_'She knows something,'_ Yugi thought.

_Yes, she does,_ Yami agreed. _But can we get her to stop panicking long enough to ask her what it is she knows?_

_'I'm going to try,' _the young boy replied, but his grandfather entering the room cut him off.

"He's in the Domino Regional Hospital," Mr. Moto stated, his expression an exact copy of Yugi's worried one. He noticed the blond girl standing by the counter a moment later, and he easily picked up on the tears forming in her eyes. "I--"

"Thank you!" Lily shouted, running out the door before the old man could even finish his sentence.

He blinked, rubbing his head. "Is she okay, Yugi?" he inquired.

"I don't think so," Yugi replied. "The instant she heard about Bakura, she panicked." He paused. "I'm going to go after her."

"Alright. Keep me updated if Bakura's condition changes at all," his grandfather requested.

The reincarnated pharaoh nodded his head. "I will." Then, he was out the door as well, heading towards the hospital.

---------------------

Lily paid the taxi driver that had taken her to the hospital in record time, giving him a huge tip before she raced toward the front door. Without caring how many people she upset, she practically raced to the front desk.

"Which room is Ryou Bakura in?" she asked the lady typing away at the computer.

"Are you a family member?" she inquired in response.

Lily shook her head. "No. I'm just a close friend. My name is Lily Pegasus, so can you please tell me what room he's in?"

That made the lady snap to attention, her eyes focusing on the young girl. "Alright." She typed for a few moments before answering the original question. "He's in room 301. He's in a coma, although all his stats seem to be stable, and..."

"Thanks!" Once again, she was off and running before the woman could even finish talking. She figured that she'd be able to find Ryou once she came close enough. After all, he had the ring.

The elevator couldn't come down quickly enough, so she raced up the stairs, the adrenaline easily giving her the energy she needed. She knew that she'd pay later for all the rush, but she didn't care. If she didn't hurry, then Ryou or Bakura's soul room could be destroyed, and she refused to let that happen.

Running down a hall, she found room 301. Throwing open the door, she raced to the young boy's side.

Ryou was lying down on a hospital bed, his white hair almost perfectly matching his skin color. His eyes were tightly closed shut, and his breathing was far too shallow for her liking. All sorts of machines were hooked up to him by plenty of wires, but she ignored them.

Lily took his hand, finding it cold and limp. "Ryou... Bakura..." she whispered before pouring her power into him. Even if it took all of her magic to save him, she would do it. She was not going to lose one of her friends to the enemy.

"Hold on..."

---------------------

Lily walked into Ryou's soul room, Lilian not far behind. There wasn't much left of the room; in fact, it was pretty much unrecognizable as anything but a heap of rubble.

"Ryou!" the young girl called out desperately as she began to search for him.

"Where are you?" the princess shouted, searching as well.

"Lily?" a soft voice drifted through the air as the place shook violently.

Both girls were thrown to the floor, Lily flying through the air and landing with a painful thump.

Briefly shaking her head, she stood back up. "Ryou?!"

"Help..." Ryou's voice was quickly growing weaker, and the girls knew that he wouldn't be able to last much longer.

Lily scrambled over to where the voice had come from, trying her best to keep from being thrown into another wall by the next tremor. She was not going to let anything hurt her friends, and no stupid enemy was going to keep her from helping Ryou.

Finally, she reached the boy. He was curled in a small ball, surrounded by rubble. What was left of what she assumed was a dresser kept a large section of ceiling from falling on his head.

"RYOU!" Lily instantly dragged him out of the dangerous position and into her lap, cradling him as she let her power surround him. "Lilian, can I put up one of those barriers to protect--" Another huge shaking cut her off, but she refused to release the white-haired boy, even when she painfully collided with a fallen section of wall.

"Yes, but it won't be easy. You'll have to gain his permission first," the princess replied.

"That's fine," the young girl replied, hugging Ryou closer to her, trying to protect him as best as she could. "I think I have a handle on this, so go help Bakura."

Tigrililian nodded her head. "Alright." As quickly as she could, she raced off.

Lily turned her attention back to Ryou. "Do I have your permission to set up a barrier to protect your mind?" When he didn't answer, she gently shook him and tried again. "Please, answer me."

"....Ye...Yes..."

The shaky response was good enough for her, and she immediately set about filling the room with her power, trying to put up the familiar barrier. It was easier in a sense because she wasn't in any pain, but it was also harder because it took far more power and more concentration because it wasn't her soul room.

"I'm not going to give up," she growled out softly, burying her face in Ryou's hair. "I'm not."

Slowly, the barrier formed and the quakes stopped. Sighing happily, Lily watched Ryou's soul room slowly reform, all the pieces going back to where they belonged. It took a little while, but soon she saw a pleasant room filled with games, books, and all sorts of interesting figurines and photographs.

When Ryou stirred in her arms, she smiled, relaxing her grip on him. "How are you feeling?" she asked him as he looked at her with unsure brown eyes.

"Better now," he replied softly, blushing as he moved slightly away from her and sat with his back against a wall. _'That was nice, but a little too intimate at the moment. I wonder... why was she holding me_?' "But... what happened?"

"You're soul room was attacked," Lily answered, blushing as well. _'What possessed me to hold him like that?' _"It's the same thing that happened to me. To help you, I had to enter your soul room. I hope you don't mind."

"If you had to do it to save me, it's okay," Ryou replied, smiling gently at her.

"Alright." She stood up. "Now, I should probably check on Lilian and Bakura. She was supposed to protect him from the attack."

Brown eyes widened in surprise. "That isn't good."

Lily frowned. "Why?"

"Bakura doesn't accept help very well."

---------------------

---------------------

CotA: Sorry about the long wait for this chappie, but at least I made it long enough for you people to enjoy. Unfortunately, it got so long that I didn't feel like adding the Bakura-gets-his-butt-saved scene. That'll be in the next chappie. Oh, and warning, this wasn't sent off to my beta reader. I grew a little too lazy, and I felt my readers had waited far too long for this chappie anyways. ::shrugs:: So, I hope everyone enjoyed it, and the review responses are below.  
  
SesshysKitty: I'm glad you liked it, and I'm praying that you enjoyed this chappie as well.  
  
Sakura-chan: I believe I answered your question about Yami/Yugi coming back in. Although it was brief, you'll see more of him in the next chappie, and I'm planning on adding the others in as well. And thanks for the cookie! ::bounces around::  
  
Hutchy: I believe I answered your question. It's an old Egyptian game that I could actually find the rules to. ::grins:: I got to do lots of research for this chapter.  
  
???: I'm glad you approve. I've been working hard on this story.  
  
Spontaneousxhumanxcombusion: Dream time is fun, especially to write. And I enjoyed the song too. So priceless... ::giggles::


	15. Chapter 15

Stolen Hearts Across Time

Chapter 15

Tigrililian growled softly as she stumbled around Bakura's trashed soul room. Egyptian pottery and relics littered the floor, and many of the walls had not only fallen--they had turned to dust. The rest of the walls were still partially erect, causing her great difficulty in spotting the white-haired male. Treasure lay all over the place, flying around whenever the ground shook. More than once the princess vividly cursed when one of the pieces of gold or jewelry slammed into her hard enough to leave a bruise... if she hadn't been a spirit.

"Bakura!" she screamed as another tremor sent her forcefully to the ground, her body sliding into a large stone_. 'I think I just heard my spine crack,'_ she mentally grumbled, standing up on shaky ground_. 'I guess I was wrong, but that sure did hurt.' _

Teal eyes brimming with anxiety, she continued to search for the thief. _'He has to be somewhere around here.' _Making her way around the huge soul room, she called out a few more times, hoping to hear a response. She cursed as she had to once again pick her way around another set of partial walls. If the soul room had been intact, she was willing to bet it was basically a maze--a perfect place for a thief to hide his treasure.

"Dammit, Bakura, why do you find answering me so difficult?!" Lilian shouted, running a hand through her hair in annoyance. Almost immediately, she went flying to the ground, a few sparkling objects sailing over her head. _'This is not good. His soul room cannot take much more of this. Soon, it will no longer exist.'_

---------------------

Lily banged on the closed door that led to Bakura's soul room. For some strange reason, she couldn't open it, even though she could twist the doorknob. It was if something was blocking the door, keeping her from entering. No matter how hard she tired, she couldn't budge the wooden object even an inch.

"Ryou, I'm worried," she confessed, teal eyes shifting over to the boy she had just recently rescued. "What if Lilian and Bakura need my help? I know that I'm weak and that I'm going to have to sleep soon, but I can't just leave until I know that they're both alright."

"I'm sure they'll be just fine," Ryou assured her, brown eyes soft as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Lily placed one of her hands over his, practically drinking in the consolation he was offering her. She was beyond worried, but there seemed to be nothing she could do; at least, she couldn't figure out anything she could do to help. The princess and Bakura were inside, while her and Ryou were trapped outside.

Finally, she grew fed up with simply standing around and doing nothing, even if Ryou was trying to comfort her. Eyes flashing in annoyance and anxiety, she kicked at the door with all her might.

The wood creaked, and a few splinters fell to the floor, but that was it. The kick had not done any good at all.

Lily sighed. "This isn't fair. I don't want anyone to get hurt." She looked over at Ryou. "I wish I could help more."

"You've done plenty, or have you forgotten already that you saved me?" he replied, tone gentle and coaxing as if he was a parent reassuring a child that it was alright to go to bed after a nightmare.

"I haven't forgotten, but..." Without warning, she flung herself at Ryou, her arms wrapping around his shoulders as she buried her face in the crook of his neck. "I hope everything will be okay."

Ryou awkwardly patted her back before completely giving in and embracing her fully, his arms going around her waist. He rested his cheek against the top of her head, hoping that the gesture would make the girl feel better. Above all, he hoped she wouldn't cry. He didn't know how to deal with a crying female, and he especially didn't want to see Lily in any kind of pain, whether it was physical, emotional, or mental. She was simply too sweet to have to deal with such things.

"I'm sure everything will be just fine."

---------------------

Tigrililian forced herself to stand up, wincing in pain. Even if she was a spirit, the constant battering and falling was taking its toll on her body... or what was left of it. It almost amazed her that she hadn't collapsed yet from the beating she had been taking. She had already slammed into the floor and crumbling walls more than twenty times, and she knew that the flying treasures had come in contact with her more often than that.

"Ouch!" She hissed as a golden goblet imbedded with precious stones knocked into her head right as a tremor sent her flying into the floor once again.

_'I cannot let this keep up_,' Lilian thought, biting on her bottom lip as the floor began to crack_. 'His soul room is almost beyond repair. I have to find Bakura, so I guess it's time to change tactics.' _She licked her lips, standing up as a vicious look entered her eyes, replacing the determination.

"Hey Bakura, I guess you just want to die, don't you? Well, I'm sure the pharaoh is going to love to hear that," she taunted. "After all the torment he went through with you, after how tough you made yourself out to be, you're going to let a little thing like your pride defeat you." She forced a laugh out. "It's sad, really it is. You're going to let someone with a little bit of magic destroy your soul room just because your pride is telling you to suffer in silence."

Lilian took a deep breath. "Truly, I'm beginning to wonder if taking lessons from you was really a good idea. You really aren't all that smart if you can't even make a single sound when someone appears to help you out. Seriously, I bet even the pharaoh would accept my help. HE knew when to swallow his pride. Unfortunately, it looks like you aren't as smart as HIM or even as logical."

"SHUT UP!"

_'Thank you, Isis!'_ She raced over to where she had heard the voice, knowing that she had to hurry. She had already wasted too much time, so she had to erect the protection barrier as soon as possible.

In no time at all, Lillian found the white-haired thief curled up in a ball in one corner, mostly hidden by crumbling stones and small bits of pottery. He looked helpless with his hands clasped over his head, his eyes tightly shut, and his jaw clenched so hard she swore she could hear his teeth grinding over the noise of the tremors and cracking stone floor.

"Oh, Bakura." Softness and worry entered Tigrililian's teal eyes as she knelt down beside him, placing her hands over his as she tried to draw him closer. "Just let me help you, and all this pain can end. Your soul room will cease to exist if you don't let me, and I'm sure that you still have a few bones to pick with the pharaoh... and with me."

Bakura growled softly, his head moving a fraction up and down.

The princess wasn't sure if he was nodding his head in agreement or not, but she didn't want to waste time finding out if she really did have his permission. If she didn't, her magic wouldn't work; but if she did have permission, and she double-checked, then she would only use up the precious time she had to save him.

Closing her eyes, she focused her power, sending it out in a giant wave that wove itself around her and the male. In a bright flash of light, the barrier expanded, forcing the alien magic out as the bubble encased the entire room, saving it.

Lilian sighed in relief when the tremors stopped and Bakura uncurled. "It's good to see you alive and well," she said softly, standing up. "I was worried about you." She smiled at him, the expression gentle and sad. "Although, I would appreciate it if you could possibly refrain from frightening me like that again."

Bakura snorted, crossing his arms and glaring at her as he stood up. "I didn't need your help," he retorted as his soul room slowly began to reconstruct itself. "I never did, and I never will."

She shrugged. "Say whatever you like, but I do know the truth." The smug smile that lit up her face infuriated the man, especially when a sparkle entered her eyes. "And the least you could say is thank you. I did save your soul room, you know."

"How about I say get out?" he shot back, brown eyes flashing dangerously. He knew that she enjoyed angering him, and he was not going to let her continue in her attempts to make a fool out of him. "Beat it."

The princess sighed, her hands absently smoothing out her skirt. "I miss the way you used to be."

"I never acted any differently," Bakura stated defensively.

"Yes, you did, but I just don't remember how." She sighed again, lowering her eyes. "I merely recall that I liked it better than this pompous attitude you're showing now!" She raised her eyes defiantly, her gaze daring him to challenge her.

He sneered at her. "Get out. Now."

"Fine." Lilian raised her hands in defeat. "Fine." She began walking out, heading for the door. "But the next time you're attacked, you'd better let me help you sooner, or by Ra, I'll abandon you in the most horrid, Ra-forsaken part of town and laugh while you deal with the worst filth Japan has to offer." She opened the door, pausing for a moment. "Oh, and you'd also better thank me next time." Then, she slipped out the door, smiling as if she had just won the lottery. _'Dear Isis, his face was priceless.'_

Bakura blinked, staring at the closed door. _'Just how much does she remember?'_ Suddenly, he wasn't sure if the girl was right about his attitude or not, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to find out.

---------------------

Lily was startled with she heard a soft chuckle, causing her to automatically draw away from Ryou. Of course, she left her arms around his shoulders, the limbs more resting than actually embracing. Turning her head to the side so she could see who had appeared, she smiled softly at her spirit.

"Bakura's going to be just fine, isn't he?" she inquired, tone one of confidence. _'Lilian wouldn't have left him if he wasn't perfectly healthy and in one piece... unless he did something to tick her off. If that happened, then she'd merely save him and then kick his butt.' _

Tigrililian nodded her head. "Yes. Unfortunately, the tomb robber is back to normal." She snorted. "As soon as his soul room was back in one piece, he snapped at me. How like Bakura."

Ryou shook his head, unsure of what he was supposed to be feeling. He was caught somewhere between relief and worry; his relief was actually for his spirit and Lilian. He was happy that both were just fine, but he was worried because Bakura still hadn't changed all that much, and the tomb raider had actually snapped at someone who had helped him out. On the other hand, Lilian had sounded perfectly fine with Bakura's response to her, as if she was used to it and almost expected it.

The princess walked up to her hikari and patted the young girl's head. "We need to depart from here and recuperate from setting up the barriers," she stated, a soft smile on her face. "I know that you are tired, just like me."

Lily nodded. "I am tired..." She didn't want to leave Ryou just yet, despite how tired she was; she was comfortable in his arms. "I guess we do have to go." She suddenly tightened her grip on the white-haired boy, not caring that she had a witness to her actions.

A small, barely noticeable smile on his face, Ryou embraced the girl back. He wasn't sure what the hug was for, but, for some reason or another, he didn't really care. It felt wonderful and peaceful—something to be cherished.

It was Lily who eventually drew away, her wide grin and bright red cheeks unmistakable in the bright light. "Bye, Ryou. Take care."

Tigrililian nodded in her head in agreement. "Yes. Do be careful, and relay the message to Bakura as well, will you?" With a soft smile, she placed a hand on her aibou's shoulder. Then, they both vanished.

---------------------

Ryou awoke to find Lily kneeling at his bedside, her head in his lap. Her golden curls spilled aimlessly over the sheets, the silky tresses catching the light and making his hands practically itch in the desire to touch the blond locks. Instead, he repressed the urge with a great force of will and softly called out to the girl. "Lily, are you okay?"

When she didn't respond, he gently lifted some of the curls off her face and gazed at her closed eyes. She was asleep, which really didn't surprise him. _'She did save me from that magic, and when she protected herself, she was exhausted afterwards. It does stands to reason that she would be tired now as well.'_

He smiled softly at her, brushing stray strands of hair off to the side. "Thank you," he whispered, blushing slightly when she stirred in her sleep, mumbling something mostly incoherent. He could only pick up his name, his first name.

"Sleep well," Ryou told her, expression gentle. "You earned it." He definitely felt indebted to her, and with each passing day, his attachment to her grew. At the moment, he couldn't picture his life without her.

_You're too soft,_ Bakura hissed, obviously not happy about something.

'_You just don't like the fact that Lilian saved you,' _the young boy replied softly, delicately running his fingers through Lily's hair. He wasn't sure why, but he just didn't care if he angered his yami. Maybe it was the rather painful experience, but he wasn't scared of his spirit. He probably would be terrified later, and he'd even apologize for his words, but that didn't do him any good at the moment.

_I did not need her help anymore than I need your stupid comments,_ the spirit shot back, tone dark and full of homicidal promises. He was definitely not in a good mood.

Ryou cringed, already regretting his words. _'... Um...' _Taking a deep breath, he tried to think of a good way to apologize. _'I won't say it again,' _he promised, his mind still mainly focused on Lily.

_You'd better not... unless you wish to die a most slow, painful death,_ Bakura threatened.

The position Lily was in couldn't be comfortable, so he decided to move her to the empty bed next to his.

Carefully sitting up so as not to disturb the girl, he swung his legs around to let them hang off the edge of the bed, his arms around the blond female. Unfortunately, when he tried to move, he finally noticed all the wires and tubes connected to him.

Ryou blinked in surprise. _'This is going to pose a small problem,' _he mused, looking down at the girl. _'There's no way I'll be able to move enough to get her in the other bed.' _

_Then don't bother,_ the spirit spat out, tone one of annoyance. _She's not worth the effort. Her and the princess are just plain annoyances._

'_I can't leave her like she is, so I guess there is only one option left,' _the British boy mused, eyes soft as he carefully wrapped his arms around the girl.

_Yeah, you can let her sleep on the floor!_ Bakura stated with feeling, and his aibou could almost see the spirit stomping his foot to emphasize his seriousness.

'_Would it be alright if she joined us on the bed?' _Ryou inquired softly, as he hauled the girl onto the mattress next to him. He laid her at his left side, one arm curled around her back to keep her from rolling off the edge of the bed. _'We can ask one of the nurses to move her the next time one of them comes in.' _Of course, he purposely failed to mention that they could call a nurse. He figured what Bakura didn't know wouldn't hurt anyone. At least, he hoped it wouldn't.

_If you truly wish to follow through with such an asinine pursuit, then I see no reason to expend my energy to stop you. I could care less what happens to the pathetic girl._ Bakura gave every impression of pouting; his arms were crossed as he turned away from Ryou, nose up in the air.

'_If you say so.' _He really didn't believe a word the spirit said when it came to Lily or the princess, but he felt it wise to let the harsh comments slide. Bakura's pride had obviously been wounded, and Ryou wasn't about to push the tomb robber any more. Instead, the young boy listened to the blonde mumble in her sleep, rubbing her cheek against his shoulder.

Lily's arm slowly crept up to rest on his chest, her fingers gently grabbing onto his shirt. Her curls fell across her face and his shoulder, her pink lips slightly parted as she slowly breathed in and out. She looked so peaceful simply lying there, and having her next to him felt so right that he couldn't help but tug her just a little closer.

Suddenly, she shifted positions, practically rolling over on top of him, her face buried in the crook of his neck. One of her legs pinned his own to the bed, as the rest of her upper body was pressed fully against his chest, keeping him from moving.

Ryou's face automatically flushed a bright red, the coloring showing up incredibly well against his pale skin. When she wiggled slightly, he turned an even more brilliant red, the blush spreading from his head to his toes.

'_Oh dear Kami...' _He was so embarrassed that he was even having trouble thinking. _'What am I supposed to do now?' _ She had him pinned, and he didn't want to accidentally wake her up or pull out any of the tubes connected to him. _'This isn't good.' _

_It's your own damn fault, stupid aibou. I told you to leave her on the floor,_ Bakura retorted, tone harsh. _You didn't listen to me, so you have no one to blame but yourself._

As fate would have it, Yugi walked in at that exact moment, closely followed by TeÁ, Joey, and Tristan. They all looked surprised in varying degrees when they noticed the position Ryou and Lily were in.

"You go, Bakura!" Tristan grinned, lightly punching the white-haired boy in the shoulder. His grayish-brown eyes sparkled as he continued to tease the shorter boy.

"All the girls fall for Bakura," Joey complained, slumping down in a nearby chair. "It's just not fair."

"It's nice to see that you're doing better, Bakura, but why is Lily sleeping on top of you?" Yugi inquired curiously, violet eyes watched the blushing male with complete patience. He could wait for his friend to respond. After all, Ryou was in a rather emotionally uncomfortable position.

"Well, um... That is to say..." Ryou really couldn't think of a single way to explain what was going on. "She stopped the magic from tearing up my soul room, but she fell asleep afterwards and..." He decided to leave it at that.

'_Now Bakura's soul room is being attacked?' _Yugi thought in astonishment. _'I thought the only one in danger of that was Lily and Tigrililian.' _

_Yes... This puts a whole new spin on things,_ Yami stated, tone thoughtful. _We will have to be much more careful from now on, and the sooner we find this attacker, the better._

Yugi nodded his head in agreement. _'I would hate to think what might have happened to Bakura if Lily hadn't made it in time.' _

TeÁ smiled. "She collapsed on the floor, didn't she?" she inquired, earning a nod from Ryou. She and the other boys had already heard about Lily from Yugi, learning what she was in Domino for and what had happened so far. "And you didn't want to leave her there, so you decided to share your bed. How sweet." She paused. "Although that really doesn't explain why she's on top of you."

Ryou's blush drastically darkened, if that was even possible. "Um... That I can explain. Lily moves in her sleep."

Suddenly, Joey stood up, his eyes lighting up as if a light bulb had suddenly turned on in his head. "I remember her! I accidentally knocked her down a while ago on my way to the mall!"

"And that's something to be proud of?" TeÁ retorted calmly, tone gentle. "You really should be more careful."

Tristan stared at his blond-haired friend. "You're right. I did the same thing. She was right outside the game shop about five days ago."

"You both ran into her?" TeÁ shook her head, not sure what to think of her friends. They honestly didn't act their age half the time. She ran a hand through her shoulder-length brown hair, blue eyes on Ryou. "So, you are feeling better, right?"

Ryou nodded. "Yes, I am fine, but if someone could move Lily over to the empty bed, I would definitely appreciate it."

"No problem." Tristan took it upon himself to pick up the girl. Well, at least he tried to. The instant he started pulling her away from Ryou, she tightened her grip on his clothing. "A little help here?!" he hissed out, uncomfortable in his bent-over position.

"Sure thing," Yugi replied, instantly going over to the bedside to help. Both he and Ryou worked on prying her fingers off the white-haired boy's garments as Joey helped Tristan hold the blonde girl. After a short struggle, Tristan gently set Lily down in the empty bed, stretching his hands above his head afterwards.

"Now, Bakura, why don't you tell us a little more about what happened?" TeÁ prompted, dragging a chair closer to his bedside and sitting down in it.

Yugi nodded his head. "Yes, that would probably be a good thing." He stood by TeÁ's side, giving his British friend his full, undivided attention. Yami did the same.

Tristan and Joey fought over the remaining chair until TeÁ reminded them that they were in a hospital and Lily was sleeping. In the end, Joey won the chair, if only because he was a tad quicker than Tristan. Defeated, the brown-haired boy resigned himself to leaning back against a wall, his eyes on the hospitalized boy.

Ryou sighed once everyone was settled, knowing that he did indeed have some explaining to do. "Alright... Here it goes."

-----

-----

CotA: Alright minna-san, here's the next chappie. Sorry I took so long, but I've been busy. I'm not sure when the next chappie is going to come out, but I'll try to make it soon, really I will. Well, the review responses are below.

Sakura onto Hitomi: Arigatou! ::takes cookies:: And thank you again for being such a great beta reader.

Elen Liste Alda: Vacation? Cool. And any info you can give me on Bakura would be much appreciated. I'm not sure why, but for some reason I'm growing to love Ryou Bakura more and more each day. Maybe it's because I have the manga stuff from where he first appears. ::giggles:: Go Ryou!!! And you really should have more confidence in yourself. You're an excellent writer.

SesshysKitty: I'm glad I'm improving, and I will update as soon as I possibly can.

Spontaneousxhumanxcombustion: You think Lily and Ryou are cute? Awww... thanks! I think Ryou's adorable as well. And I agree, unnerving exceptionally attractive, arrogant jerks is a lot of fun.

Hutchy: Well, Bakura was in pain until this chappie, and what happens in the past is my secret! ::giggles insanely::


	16. Chapter 16

Stolen Hearts Across Time

Chapter Sixteen

Ryou slowly explained to his friends everything he knew, which didn't amount to much. He only knew that his mind had been attacked and Lily had saved him. End of story. He knew nothing more and nothing less.

"How did she get inside your soul room?" Yugi wondered out loud, bracing his elbows on his knees and placing his head in his hands. "I thought Shadi was the only one who could do that."

"Shadi?" the others questioned, but short boy waved them off.

"It's nothing to worry about at the moment. He's someone I met on duelist kingdom." Violet eyes looked up at his hospitalized friend. "But I think we should worry about why Bakura was attacked."

TeÁ nodded her head in agreement. "If someone's attacked you, then they could possibly attack us."

"So... what're we supposed to do if dey do attack?" Joey wanted to know, frowning slightly. Having someone try to harm his mind sounded painful, to say the least. "Is dere anything we can do?"

Ryou shrugged. "I do not know. Lily seems to be the only one capable of doing anything." He gave a small, forced smile. It was because of him that Lily was in the condition she was in. He just wished he could do something to help her as she had helped him. "I could not do anything to protect myself."

"Yugi?" Of course, TeÁ looked to the tri-colored boy for help. He always seemed to have so many answers no matter what the situation.

'_I'm not sure what to say,' _Yugi thought, still pondering over what to do. _'We've never really had to deal with something like this. Marik and his mind control was the closest thing.' _

_I know. We don't know the name of our enemy nor what he wants,_ Yami replied. _At least with Marik we knew he wanted all the god cards as well as the puzzle. This new one is different, and I don't know how to defend anyone against a mind attack. It looks like we'll have to depend on Lily for help whenever we're attacked._

"I'm not sure." The short boy mentally nodded his head in agreement. _'And for some reason, Lily seems to be the center of everything. Maybe she has some answers for us.' _

_That, or Lilian might,_ the pharaoh added, glancing over at the sleeping girl. _At least one of them should have answers, well, if Lilian can remember anything, that is._ Things were not going well, and that was an understatement. They needed answers… and soon. Without answers, they wouldn't be able to protect themselves.

A nurse walked into the room right then, nearly dropping her clipboard when she saw Ryou awake and looking perfectly healthy. Her eyes were wide even after she regained some of her composure.

"I can't believe it," she stated, accidentally ignoring the others in the room, voice full of shock. "The doctors were positive that you wouldn't come out of the coma for at least another few hours, if ever," she blurted out, not realizing what she had said until afterwards.

Ryou blinked, unsure of how to respond to that. _'If ever?' _he repeated, his mental tone both surprised and worried. _'Why would anyone think that?' _

_Think, stupid aibou,_ Bakura retorted, narrowing his eyes in annoyance. _Our soul rooms were attacked._

The young boy mentally cringed and then pondered for a moment, faintly noticing the others talking around him. _'Maybe if a soul room is destroyed, the person sinks into a permanent coma. The body lives, but the mind is gone.'_

_Now, was that so hard?_ the spirit taunted coldly, although he wasn't totally positive about his hikari's idea. It was likely, and it made sense, but it was also plausible that a person without a soul room would simply die. He didn't want Ryou dead, mainly because he could put the wussy boy in charge of the body whenever he didn't want to deal with someone or something. It was a nice tactic, one he enjoyed using. It was also fun to put Ryou off-balance by suddenly switching, giving him charge of the body.

The nurse smiled. "I'll tell the doctors your condition, and after a few more hours of observation, they'll probably let you go home." As she turned to leave, she noticed Lily sleeping on the spare bed. "Exhausted herself from worry?" she inquired.

"Something like that," Ryou answered nervously, tone unsure. It wasn't like he could tell the nurse the truth. He could just imagine the doctors shutting him up in a mental institution for telling them something so outlandish.

"She jus' needs ta rest for a while," Joey stated, the others adding their own comments to reassure the nurse. Ryou was more than thankful for their help.

The nurse just nodded and left.

* * *

A few hours later, Ryou was carrying Lily to her apartment, Yugi still with him. TeÁ, Tristan, and Joey had all left to see if they could find any information about soul rooms and mental protection. Yugi had offered to help carry Lily, but Ryou had politely turned the kind offer down. For some reason, he didn't like the idea of the shorter boy carrying the girl. His dislike had nothing to do with Bakura's vulgar protests to needing help, of course. Although, the spirit had even flat out stated that he didn't want Yugi even touching the girl, which was a bit strange.

_The Pharaoh has no right to mess with her in any way,_ Bakura stated coldly, eyes icy. _I will not tolerate him making her think that she can use his help instead of ours. I want to be there when we find this new item. The Pharaoh doesn't deserve it; I do._

Ryou had the strangest feeling there was more to it than that; Lily was asleep, after all, and she wouldn't know who had helped her. He didn't say anything to the spirit, partially because he didn't want to anger the thief and partially because he didn't want Yugi to touch her either.

For the first time in his life, Ryou felt possessive. He chalked it up to Lily saving his life. It was hard not to feel the strong bond he now felt toward her. In a sense, she was his—his rescuer, his partner. She was more important to him than he ever could have possibly imagined.

'_So now…' _Ryou stared at Lily's door. _'How are we going to get her inside?' _

Bakura grinned evilly, deciding to freak out his aibou. _We search her for it. Check pockets, and if there are no pockets, search her undergarments, and as a last resort, check her shoes._

"Is this her apartment?" Yugi inquired, looking at the door.

Ryou nodded. "Yes, it is." _'Wha-what?' _he mentally sputtered, staring at the spirit. _'We… we can't do that!'_

_Are we going to pick the lock then?_ Bakura retorted, snorting in disbelief at his aibou's stupidity. _In front of the Pharaoh?_

"How are we going to get in?" the short boy asked, sounding curious. _'Do you think Ryou has a key?' _

Yami frowned. _I would not think so. I do not believe Lily has known him long enough to do something like that._ He didn't know why, but he didn't like the idea of Lily being so close to Ryou. He trusted Ryou, but he felt so protective of Lily, or maybe it was Lilian he was protective over. He didn't know, but he didn't think it mattered.

"I don't know," Ryou answered calmly, studying the door. _'Are we going to grope Lily in front of him!' _he retorted, appalled that his yami could suggest such a thing. He couldn't do such a thing to Lily, let alone in front of someone!

_It might prove to him that he shouldn't mess with her._ Bakura grinned. He liked the idea of proving that the girl was his and only his.

'_It might prove to him that we're a danger to her,' _he shot back, tone even. Besides, he was not about to do anything so indecent to anyone, let alone Lily.

_Neither of us want Yugi to know I'm still here, and you wouldn't be able to pick a lock._

'_I wouldn't search her unmentionables either.' _

Bakura paused. His aibou had a point. _Very well then. Do you have any better ideas?_

'_Ask Yugi for help?' _Ryou inquired tentatively. He was afraid of angering his spirit, although he had just debated with him without any problems. It was so strange that the British boy didn't know what to think.

The ancient spirit snorted but decided to give in. It wasn't worth his time. _Do as you wish, but do not blame me for the consequences if they aren't to your liking, stupid aibou._

The white-haired boy mentally sighed in relief and looked over at Yugi. "Do you have idea as to how we can get in?"

The short boy looked up, an embarrassed expression on his face. "…Not really." _'Yami, any ideas?' _He wanted to help his friend, but he just didn't know how.

_I have no skills in unlocking doors,_ Yami replied. _I could probably break down the door if need be, but I have no knowledge of peaceful ways._

'_Then what are we going to do?' _Yugi wanted to know. They couldn't stand out in the hallway forever.

_Take her someplace else to sleep, someplace safe,_ the Pharaoh suggested, eyes soft. He was worried about the girl, and it showed. He couldn't really remember much about her, but he felt protective urges. _And someone should keep a constant watch over her. Everything has been centered around her so far, which means that she is the key to solving our new mystery of the mental attacks and the millennium item._

Growling, the tomb robber paced. This was pathetic, which he wasn't exactly surprised by. The pharaoh always had been pathetic, and he expected no less from his reincarnation. Of course, that didn't help his patience. He wanted to do put Lily someplace safe NOW, and the pharaoh was not being any help at all.

_I'm tired of waiting_, Bakura spat in anger and impatience. "Well then, I'll just take her back to my place. We have to take her somewhere," he stated, briefly taking over Ryou's mouth to speak. The body was still the British boy's, and the mouth was his once the spirit said his piece.

'_Our place?' _Ryou questioned, so surprised that he didn't even seem to mind that his spirit had briefly taken some control from him. Of course, he also didn't mind the idea of taking Lily to his place. '_You're volunteering to take her to the apartment?'_

_She's not going to Yugi's place, that's for sure. She is mine, and I will not have her go anywhere else, _Bakura snapped, trying to mentally push Ryou into tightening his grip on the girl. The young boy did just that without realizing it, affectionately pressing his cheek to the top of her head. Lily reacted by subconsciously snuggling closer, an incredibly soft, happy sound escaping from between slightly parted lips. _She's safer with us than with any of the others_.

Ryou briefly wondered if his possessiveness was coming from Bakura, but he didn't think on it long. No matter what the reason, the tomb raider was being protective of the girl, which certainly wasn't a bad thing. _'I agree,' _the boy found himself mentally saying before he knew it, a soft look in his deep brown eyes as he gazed down at the girl.

Yugi nodded his head, conceding to the other male's logic. They did have to take Lily somewhere safe, and Bakura's place would probably count as that. It was better than nothing, that was for certain. Lily would probably be safer if everyone guarded her back at his place, but he had a feeling Bakura wouldn't go for that. "Alright. We'll take her there."

"Actually, maybe you should go tell the others where she is, so they'll know who to contact to find out how she's doing?" Once again, Bakura had taken over the mouth, and after only a moment, Ryou had total control again. It was amazing, to say the least.

Yugi gave the other boy a strange look, unsure of how to respond. _'This seems a little… unusual for Bakura. I don't understand why he seems so protective over her.' _

Frowning, Yami studied the white-haired male. _Perhaps… no. It's not possible._ He shook his head. _Surely Bakura doesn't…_

'_Yami?' _the short boy asked, filled with curiosity. _'What is it?' _

_In this short of time it shouldn't be possible,_ the pharaoh replied. _And I really have no proof. When I do have a real reason to worry, I'll tell you, but for now, I believe everything is okay._

"Alright," Yugi said, smiling slightly. "I'll do that." He paused. "Do you want me to come over later to help you watch over her?"

Ryou shook his head. "No. I think I can handle it." With Bakura wanting to protect the girl, he probably could. The extra help would be welcome, but he didn't want his spirit going ballistic because the pharaoh was there. Bakura would never accept help from the pharaoh, of course.

_If Lily was awake, I'd say he wanted time alone with her._ Yami sounded surprised.

'_What?' _Yugi knew what that meant, but Bakura had just met Lily. There was no way Bakura was interested in Lily; it just wasn't possible. Falling so quickly for someone just wasn't like Bakura at all, which meant… he didn't have a clue as to how to explain Bakura's actions. "Okay."

"I'll call you when I arrive so you know that Lily's safe," Ryou offered.

Yugi felt better when he heard the white-haired boy say that. _'That sounds like the Ryou I know,'_ he thought happily.

_It does,_ Yami agreed.

"Alright," Yugi said. "And thank you. Be careful with her."

"I will," the taller boy promised, and then left with the girl carefully cradled in his arms still.

* * *

Okay… I know that this is LONG overdue, and I'm really sorry. I'm finally out of school. I'm trying to get a job right now, but things will be a lot less stressful, so I'll try to get as much updating done as I can.

And note: I do know that in the manga Yugi met Shadi at an earlier time than on Duelist Kingdom. I'm going by the anime in this.

Now, review responses:

Anime Freak: I'm sorry it took me so long. College has been… stressful, to say the least.

Soccerchic91588: well, more cuteness is coming, promise, and I'm glad you like this story so far.

Icy AngelWings: Thanks for all the reviews, and I'm pleased that you're enjoying the story.

Elen Liste Alda: Well, in my book, college is an amazing excuse. :nods head: yep, yep. Good luck with your fanfic.

Sam: I didn't mean to take a break from updating. College is a lot more hectic than I imagined. I'll try to make up for it this summer.

Hutchy: Yes, it's a secret. I'm planning on keeping a lot of things secret.

SesshysKitty: Thanks. I love hearing that my story is cute and adorable. Makes me feel all happy inside… makes me feel like updating.

Olifanteje-emma: here's the next chapter, as you requested.


	17. Chapter 17

Stolen Hearts Across Time

Chapter Seventeen

Dream Time 

Bakura shook his head, pale hair falling over his shoulders as his bangs hid his eyes from view. "Then you are even a bigger idiot than I thought." He pried her hand off his arm. "Go back to your palace and the pharaoh, Princess Tigrililian."

Lily stared at him, eyes wide. Panic seized her, making her freeze. _'Oh dear Isis… he's going to kill me.'_ She simply stood there as Bakura turned away from her.

"Did you not hear me? Leave!" he snapped, fury in his voice along with something else she couldn't identify. He almost sounded… hurt.

"Bakura?" she said softly, realizing that he wasn't going to kill her. She was still safe around him. It was a rather nice feeling, and she couldn't help but reach out and gently touch his shoulder. She knew he was angry with her, most likely because she was the princess. '_It's not like it's my fault_,' she thought. _'I was born into this position. I can't help that I'm a princess anymore than he can help the fact that he's a commoner.'_

He shrugged off her touch, still not turning to look at her. "Do not touch me, _princess_." He made her title sound like the most disgusting curse he knew, as if he considered her lower than dung.

She withheld the scowl that threatened to form on her face. If she had learned anything at the palace, she had learned that there were times she needed to be diplomatic and at least appear neutral. "Does me being a princess make that much difference? You already knew that I was a noble. Besides, it is not like my attitude is any different from any other lower noble." Lily wanted to continue on with her lessons, she really did. They were pretty much the only things she enjoyed anymore.

"Yes, it does." He turned around and glared at her, brown eyes so dark with anger they were almost black. "You are supposed to marry the pharaoh before the end of the year. You are his ally and one of my enemies."

"I'm not your enemy," she snapped at him, narrowing her eyes. _'What an idiot!' _ "Or do you think I was just pretending the entire time?" She stomped her foot, knowing she was acting a little childish but not caring. "I can assure you that if I was your enemy I would have come tonight with guards. Instead, I came alone."

"I never said you were intelligent," Bakura stated, voice laced with fury. His stiff stance spoke volumes, letting Lily know just how much he wanted her gone. "Just my enemy."

Lily almost slapped him but resisted the urge. He was always such a jerk to her, but at least he had tolerated her up until now. "You are the idiot," she replied with equal heat. "You are the one who hasn't noticed the fact I enjoy your lessons. You are the one who hasn't realized that I was alone when I first met you. You are the only one who has failed to realize that I enjoy my freedom, and my freedom is the same as my time with you." She poked him in the chest each time she said 'you.' "And you are the one who thinks I can't survive out here without some help, so I need you. I have no reason to bring the guards if I need you."

Bakura continued to glare at her, but as she gazed into his eyes, she realized that he was actually thinking about what she had said. _'Maybe I can get him to understand. Just maybe…' _A small spark of hope filled her chest.

"I may be the princess, but I enjoy my time with you more than anything else." And, before she could change her mind, she quickly and gently kissed him on the mouth. She had done it earlier that night merely because she had wanted to prove she could act. This time she wanted to show him she was serious. She was not going to let him simply brush her off because of what she was. She was not going to lose her freedom, not when she had gained it only recently.

The kiss was soft and rather brief, but she did enjoy it. Despite Bakura's rough attitude, his lips weren't hard and un-giving. They were soft, and Lily had to repress a small sigh of enjoyment. Even though he wasn't kissing her back, it felt good.

The tomb robber seemed to be surprised, although he hid it well. She could only tell because of the slight widening of his eyes.

"Bakura?" she whispered, voice barely audible, as she took a small step back from him. She figured he would want a little bit of breathing room. "Will I be able to continue with my lessons?"

He frowned at her, a sharp look in his eyes. It seemed that he had come to a decision. "If you think I'm going to treat you any differently now that I know that you're a princess, you're wrong. I'm not going to coddle you or go easy on you," he growled out.

Lily's face lit up as if she had just received the best present ever. "Thank you!" Impulsively she hugged him, almost immediately letting him go, barely noticing that he didn't stiffen when she did so. _'Just surprised,'_ she surmised. "I'll see you tomorrow then at the same time, same place?" she asked excitedly. She didn't quite know why Bakura had given into her, but she didn't care. She could continue with her lessons, and she was still safe with him. She couldn't imagine anything better.

"Unless you have a better idea, which I doubt, then yes." His voice was harsh, but his dark brown eyes didn't quite match his words.

She frowned at him for a moment, but then decided to let the insult slide. Nodding her head, she gave a small wave. "I'll see you then."

With that done, she raced off to the palace, wondering the entire way back if Bakura would change his mind or not. She really didn't know. As she slipped quietly through the large garden, she hid her cloak inside a thick bush in a corner, knowing that it wouldn't be found. Then, she walked around the garden for a little while, relaxing. It had been such a busy night that she was still too excited to sleep, despite the fact that she knew she had lessons in the morning.

Lily sat down underneath a tree, admiring the stars as one hand idly twirled a strand of hair. It was a peaceful night out, without a cloud in sight, and slowly the peace entered her, although she still wasn't tired.

"Out here again?" a male voice called out to her.

She turned her head, finding Seth there. Meekly she stood up and nodded her head. If she were going to get into trouble, she would take it standing up, tall and proud. "Yes, I am. I couldn't sleep." _'Ra curse it… couldn't he have been in bed already? I was hoping I wouldn't be found.'_

"It doesn't look like you were climbing trees." He frowned for a moment. "But how long have you been out here?" He didn't look happy at all, his blue eyes icy.

Lily took a deep breath. "I don't know. Maybe a few hours?" She waited for the lecture, knowing it would come. Seth wanted her to act like the princess she was supposed to be, but she just couldn't seem to manage that. She knew she broke rules all the time, but she was just so restless. She needed freedom.

Seth sighed, shaking his head. "You've been abnormally restless lately. Perhaps you need a break from your studies and all the politics." He gave her a stern look. "But if I do this for you, you must rest and catch up on all the sleep you've lost. Also, you must let Hollic dress you up and make you look like a princess is supposed to look like for the next few days."

'_Dear Isis… I don't fully like either option, but a break from everything would be a blessing.'_ She hung her head in defeat. Being dressed up with the make-up and everything wouldn't be too bad. She could live with if it meant more sleep, and it would make Hollic happy. "Alright."

"Alright, now, off to bed with you, and I don't want to see you out here again tonight, or else you will have double lessons tomorrow and be grounded to your room for three days," her brother threatened, tone serious.

She hugged him, a small smile on her face. She felt her brother relax and return the embrace. Beneath his colder exterior, he really was a bit of a softy. "Thank you," she said simply before racing off to her room. Once again she had escaped from trouble, making her feel incredibly lucky. Perhaps her life was going to make a nice turn-around. She certainly hoped so.

_**End Dream Time**_

Lily woke up in familiar surroundings, a small smile on her face as she gazed at Ryou's living room. Things were looking up, in both her dreams and in real life. She knew Bakura and Ryou were both fine. She highly doubted that their enemy would attack again so soon, so they were safe for a while. Surely attacking someone's soul room took power, a lot of power. It certainly took a lot of power to defend against the attack.

She yawned, sitting up. Things looked exactly the same as before, although she didn't see Bakura anywhere. Standing up, she stretched, feeling a thousand times better. _'How are you feeling, Lilian?' _she asked her resident spirit. _'Are you feeling better too?' _

_Yes, I do. All my power has returned as well._ The princess smiled. _And we will have to thank Ryou and Bakura for bringing us here. It was very kind of them both._

'_Let's see if we can find them…'_ Lily went down the hall, looking into the open rooms. One door was closed, so she respected Ryou's privacy and didn't pry. Then, she went into the kitchen, just in case he was in there. She didn't find him, but she did find dirty dishes.

'_These are my fault,'_ the young girl thought._ 'If he wasn't off helping me find the eye all the time, he would have more time to do things around his house.'_

_Well, why don't we make up for it then?_ the princess suggested. _We can do his dishes for him._

Lily brightened up instantly. _'Good idea.'_ Smiling, she began filling up the sink with hot water and dish soap she found under the sink. Noticing the radio, she turned it on, keeping it turned down to a relatively low volume. If Ryou were sleeping, she wouldn't want to wake him up. Poor boy was probably still recovering from the mental attack he had suffered through.

Once the sink was full of water, she attacked the dishes with a sponge, scrubbing away and singing along quietly with the radio.

Ryou woke up from his nap, feeling refreshed. Not too long after bringing Lily back to his apartment, he had begun to feel tired again. Bakura had been unusually quiet after leaving Yugi's presence, so Ryou decided to take a nap, hoping that he would wake up before Lily did. She would probably want to know how she had gotten to his apartment and why she wasn't at her own place or still at the hospital.

Yawning, he walked down the hall, his ears perking up when her heard the softest noise. The radio was on, and someone was singing. When he entered the kitchen, he saw Lily standing at his sink, washing his dishes and singing almost inaudibly.

"Hold on to me, Love. You know I can't stay long. All I wanted to say was I love you and I'm not afraid," Lily sang softly, her eyes closed for the moment. "Can you hear me? Can you feel me in your arms? Holding my last breath, safe inside myself, are all my thoughts of you? Sweet rapture and light, it ends here tonight."

Bakura stared at the girl as the sad words continued to spill forth from her lips. The lyrics disturbed him somehow. They were so depressing, and they pulled at his memories, bringing back a feeling of immense pain and sadness. He didn't like those emotions at all, and he tried to suppress them, but when he did, he felt a memory of blood and death. Ryou visibly shuddered at the memory he could sense, and wondered just what had happened in the tomb robber's past.

"I'll miss the winter--a world of fragile things. Look for me in the white forest, hiding in a hollow tree... you will find me," she sang, her voice growing a little louder. "I know you hear me. I can taste it in your tears. Holding my last breath, safe inside myself, are all my thoughts of you? Sweet rapture and light, it ends here tonight."

Lily wasn't sure why, but the song seemed to fit a memory that was trying to surface. It was a painful one, but she still wanted it. She understood that she had to take the good with the bad, and she wanted to remember everything, not just pieces. Each memory was important, especially to her spirit, so she went on singing. In a sense, she knew that she _needed_ to remember everything. Any memory could possibly be helpful with her enemy.

In her mind she could see blood and a sword. She didn't know who was wielding the sword, but she had a bad feeling that it was someone dangerous. Also, at the same time, her stomach began to hurt, like it would in a dream if she had been stabbed there.

"Closing your eyes to disappear, you pray your dreams will leave you here, but still you wake and know the truth--No one's there. Say goodnight. Don't be afraid. Calling me, holding me, as you fade to black." She turned so her back was to the counter, leaning against it as she absently twirled a golden ringlet around one finger, her eyes still closed. "Holding my last breath, safe inside myself. Are all my thoughts of you? Sweet rapture and light, it ends here tonight."

Ryou reached out to touch her, but he pulled back at the last second. Even though the song was painful, he couldn't bring himself to stop her. For some reason or another, he knew that she had to finish singing it, just as his spirit had to finish hearing it. It was a strange feeling, and even Bakura couldn't crush it no matter how hard he tried. Still though, Ryou wanted to hug Lily close and give her comfort. He wanted to wash away the pain and see her smile again.

"Holding my last breath, safe inside myself. Are all my thoughts of you? Sweet rapture and light, it ends here tonight. Holding my last breath..." Lily gave a small sigh. The song was over, and she thanked Kami for that. Her heart hurt, and she didn't even know why. It had something to do with the princess, with her past life, but that was all she knew. _'Lilian…?'_ she left the question unspoken, although they both knew what she wanted to know.

_Honestly, I just don't know,_ the princess replied sadly. Even with all her years of being a spirit, she wanted to curl up in her big brothers arms and cry, the memory of pain was so bad.

The girl suddenly felt herself enveloped in strong arms, causing her eyes to snap open. Ryou was holding her tightly, and there was fear and pain in his eyes. Surprised at his appearance, she pressed the off button on the radio.

"Don't ever sing that again," Bakura ordered, voice harsh. He had taken over Ryou's mouth, knowing his aibou would never give the girl such an order.

The girl continued to look at him, returning the hug. The song had obviously affected him as much, if not more, than her. "Do you hear me?" Ryou, under the influence of Bakura, tightened his grip on her. The tomb robber never ever wanted to hear that song again, and he would not listen to any arguments.

Lily nodded her head, not minding his forcefulness. Besides, his tight hold on her only made her feel safe. "Okay. I promise that I won't." She snuggled a little closer to him, gently rubbing his back. After singing the depressing song and trying to recall painful memories, she needed some comfort, and the tomb robber was the perfect one in her eyes to seek comfort from. He made her feel so safe. "How about a happier song next time?"

"It doesn't matter to me as long as it's not that one," Bakura retorted, and then released his hold on the body's mouth, escaping to his soul room and slamming the door. He had gotten his point across, so now he wanted to hide and recover from the feeling of sadness.

She rested her cheek against his chest, neither her nor Ryou choosing to move. She simply wanted to enjoy the moment, although she was sure that Seto wouldn't exactly approve, and neither would her father. They were both so over protective.

Ryou was the first one to speak up. "Why were you doing my dishes?" he asked, voice soft and kind. "I'm not complaining; I just don't understand."

"Because they needed to be done, and I'm always taking up so much of your time, and I felt bad for keeping you away from the things you need to do, and—"

He couldn't help it; he laughed, cutting the girl off. "You are silly," he told her simply, affection in his voice. "You don't need to feel bad for anything. I'm helping you because I want to."

"But I'm the reason you don't have time to do the things you need to do around your apartment," Lily protested.

"If you're that worried about it, then I'll let you finish washing my dishes now, and I'll dry them," he replied. "We'll work together on it; how does that sound?"

She smiled, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "That sounds good. Thank you." She wiggled out of his grasp and went back to washing the dishes, humming and grinning.

Ryou mentally shook his head, a small smile on his face. _'Lily is so silly but so sweet,'_ he thought, grabbing a towel and starting to dry the dishes, putting them away as he did so. _'I hope she stays here after we find the eye for her father.'_ At that moment it suddenly hit him; Lily would probably leave as soon as she found the eye. Once she found the eye, she really wouldn't have much of a reason to come back, and she definitely didn't have a reason to permanently stay in Domino. _'I don't want her to go,'_ he realized. _'I really, really don't want her to go.' _

"Lily, after you find the Millennium Eye, are you going to come back?" he asked quietly, voice a little strained.

She looked at him, blinking. "Of course I am. I would miss everyone too much if I didn't," she replied. "And besides, Seto lives here. He'd skin me alive if I didn't come back to at least visit him." She handed him the last dish. "After giving the person who stole my father's eye a rather firm beating and lecture, I'll have to spend a little time at home to make sure Dad recovers. After that though, I'm coming back. I care about you and everyone too much to stay away for long."

Putting the last dish away, Ryou sighed in relief. "I'm happy to hear that."

"Good." She kissed him on the cheek. "Now, what else needs to be done around this apartment?"

Ryou couldn't help himself. He laughed again.


	18. Chapter 18

Stolen Hearts Across Time

Chapter Eighteen

Lily left once Ryou's apartment was spotless, feeling much better. They may not have found any of the items, but at least Ryou's place was clean, and she'd had fun doing it. With the white-haired male there to keep her company and joke around with her, everything had been much more enjoyable.

They had both agreed on meeting the next afternoon at the game shop, and then Lily had left for home, deciding that she needed to fix herself something for dinner, not that Ryou hadn't offered to cook her something. As sweet as it was, she figured that she would be better off eating some of her leftovers at her apartment. They wouldn't last forever, and she hated to let good food go to waste. So, she promised that she would eat dinner with him another night when she didn't have leftovers.

Once at home, she called her father. Of course, she left out a few things as she was telling him what she had been up to. If he knew that someone was mentally attacking her, he would bring her home immediately. He wouldn't care if the eye had been found or not, or if anyone else was in danger of being mentally attacked. He would want her home and safe, end of story. Honestly, Pegasus really was a bit overprotective of her.

_You are his daughter, and it is only natural that he wouldn't want to put you in any danger,_ the princess said softly. _I know that my big brother was overprotective, but only because he cared so much about me. And besides, you are in danger. Everyone is, but taking you away from here will only make things worse. We're the only protection everyone has against the mental attacks._

'_I know,' _Lily replied, remember how bad Ryou had looked when his soul room had been attacked. _'I don't want to leave, only to come back and find my new friends dead.' _She mentally sighed. _'I know he has every right to worry about me, but there's nothing he can do. It's a mental attack. Who says I can't be attacked back at home?' _

_Very good point._ Tigrililian thought for a moment. _We are definitely not telling Seto or Mokuba anything either. They would send us home as well, or at least try to make us move in with them._

'_I don't not want to share a living space with two guys. I don't care if they have thousands of servants to clean everything up,'_ she replied. _'They're both still too arrogant to not put the toilet seat back down after they've used the bathroom.'_ She grinned. _'I cannot wait until some girl wraps Seto around her finger and makes him clean up his own messes.' _

_Now that I would pay to see._

Lily toyed with the phone, mind still on her brothers. "I think I should set up another lunch date with them," she murmured to herself. "Sometime early next week would be nice, and it would give me a break from item hunting with Bakura. Besides, I miss them."

_Then call them,_ Lilian told her hikari.

'_I will,'_ she replied. Then, she dialed the phone again. Seto answered after the first ring.

"This is Kaiba."

"Is that always how you answer your phone, Seto? How stiff and formal," Lily teased him. She knew that her big brother could be distant from everyone, and he had aloofness down to an art, but honestly, couldn't he relax a little?

"Yes, Lily, I do. Stiff and formal is required in the business world," Seto replied evenly, warmth in his voice despite his words.

"Awww, but I'm not part of your business world. I'm your beloved little sister who misses you very much and wants to go on another lunch date with you and Mokuba," she stated playfully. He was going to be so formal, she was going to be extra silly, just so things evened out. Besides, she felt that a little silliness did everyone some good.

"I am free three days from now," he informed her. "Will that work for you?"

"It would work perfectly." Lily grinned. "And whose turn is it to pick out the restaurant?"

"Mine." He sounded firm and unyielding.

She laughed at his tone. "Possessive, aren't you?" she asked him lightly.

"You should know me well enough to know the answer to that," Seto replied. He did miss Lily, and while he hoped that she would stay in Domino for a long time, he knew that she wouldn't. So, he would take whatever time he could get with her. "I haven't changed that much."

"No, I can't imagine that you have," Lily admitted. "But I'm glad you haven't."

"Are you still looking for the eye with the boy Bakura?"

She blinked at the sudden change in subject. "Yes, of course. We haven't found anything yet, though."

"I will see what I can find out," Seto offered.

Lily shook her head. Her big brother wanted to be helpful, even though he didn't have to do anything. She knew that he didn't like her father, and her heart warmed at the offer of help. "You don't have to," she responded. "Honestly, I'm doing fine right now. It's just taking a little bit of time."

"I don't say things like that often, so I recommend you take me up on it before I change my mind," he stated.

"Alright. Thank you, the help will be much appreciated," she said, and then continued. "I love you, big brother."

"Good girl," he replied. There was a long pause on his end, and then finally he added one last thing. "I love you too."

Lily smiled brightly. "So you will pick me up at about noon three days from now?" It was a rare occurrence when Seto Kaiba said anything even slightly caring, and saying those three words were even rarer. So, she treasured that brief utterance with all her heart, since she likely wouldn't hear him say it again for years.

"Yes. I will tell you where we're going then," Seto told her, sounding secretive.

She huffed. "Very well. I know that you're not going to tell me now, so I'm going to fix myself dinner now. I'll talk to you another time."

"Good bye."

"Bye bye, Seto."

After hanging up, she reheated some leftovers, sitting down at the table as she ate. _'I'm not sure how much Seto could help. I mean, he can see who was at Duelist Kingdom, and he can she who lives in Domino now, but it won't be a complete list. Anyone rich enough could have flown to the island even if they weren't invited, and someone who was at Duelist Kingdom could be staying here at a hotel. I don't think Seto could possibly check every hotel and know everyone who was on the island.' _

_But he can give you a list of people to start with,_ Tigrililian replied. _That's better than nothing._

'_What am I supposed to do? Knock on everyone's door and ask if I come in to see if they have my father's eye?' _the young girl retorted. _'And I'm not going to spy on anyone either.' _

The spirit sighed. _I suppose you have a good point, but you could take Bakura with you to tell you if there's an item in any of the houses or anything._

'_Still, it would make me feel like I'm invading someone else's life.' _

_They invaded your life first by stealing your father's eye._

'_Not all of the people I would have to do that to have stolen the eye,' _Lily stated firmly.

Silence reigned for a few minutes as both spirit and hikari frowned at each other. Neither was about to admit that the other was right, and both were unwilling to give in.

_You are much more noble than me,_ Lilian said at last.

'_Perhaps, but that is unimportant. We will find the eye and the new item. We will stop the person who's been mentally attacking us and stop them. It may take time, but we will do it,' _Lily replied, sounding sure of herself. _'We have Ryou, Bakura, Yugi, and the Pharaoh on our side. I know that our opponent cannot top that.' _

_How very true._ The princess chuckled. _We will succeed, and we will do so honorably._

'_Yes, we will.' _ Lily, finished with her food and with the debate over, took her dishes to the sink, washing them. She was tired, but she wasn't about ready to go to bed. She knew that saving Ryou had taken quite a bit out of her, just as saving Bakura had done to the princess, but she was feeling productive.

So, she went about doing her laundry, which had desperately needed to be done. Lilian just laughed at the girl, finding the whole situation amusing. Lily would hum or talk to herself as she did the laundry. As she was on her last load, folding the last few bits of clothing, she fell asleep, a stack of shirts serving as her pillow.

_** Dream Time **_

Lily enjoyed sleeping in, although Hollic had taken great joy in fully doing her makeup and hair. She had even chosen Lily's clothing for the day. Lily didn't think it was appropriate for a princess, even though she had seen other members of the royal family wear such things.

It was a lovely white, sheer dress. It wasn't totally transparent, but if left little left to the imagination of anyone who looked like her. A heavily jeweled belt showed off her curves, and she had heavy necklaces and bracelets on. Rings adorned her toes and fingers, and the wig was hot and cumbersome.

Needless to say, Lily wasn't entirely thrilled, but she was dealing with it. The only bright spot to her day was visiting the Pharaoh. He had requested her presence for lunch, which she normally ate with her brothers. She hadn't minded at all, since Mokuba had already made fun of her for her outfit. She had to admit that she looked silly, but she knew better than to complain in front of her older brother.

Sighing, she made her way to the throne room, smiling as she entered the room. She could feel the guards' eyes on her, not that it was abnormal. They always watched her just in case she did something stupid, such as attack Yami. Still, their gaze felt a little more intense than normal. _'Dear Isis, I must look ridiculous in all this for them to stare so.' _

However, Yami's face was priceless. He was sitting on a plush cushion at a low table, and he looked at her with something between shock, horror, and amazement. Before he even said a word to her, he gestured to a slave. "Bring me a basin of water, a cloth, and a stick of kohl before the meal is brought to us." The slave hurried to do the Pharaoh's bidding as Lily sat down next to him on another cushion.

"Is something the matter?" she asked him blithely, as if she wasn't dressed up with all her makeup on.

"You look stupid with all that makeup on. It is all to dark, except for the lip color," he replied. "And you wearing a wig is absurd." He proceeded to remove the wig, being careful not to pull on her real hair. "I do not care if everyone else wears one; it does not suit you at all."

"I didn't think so either, but I did make an agreement with Seth. I honor my agreements," Lily told him softly. _'I wish I could honor my agreement to my mother and marry for love, but there is not much I can do about that. Yami is the Pharaoh, and he is a good man. Mother would approve of him, but she would have preferred I marry someone I loved.' _

Yami shook his head. "I will overrule the agreement then. No more wigs, and no more heavy application of make-up. A fine line of kohl around your eyes, and the lip color will be more than enough for you."

"And the clothes?" she prompted.

"You are wearing a bit much jewelry, but that does not bother me. Your dress is lovely," he replied, smiling. "You look quite beautiful in it.

Lily sighed. _'Honesty, what is so attractive about this dress? You can see a little too much of my body.' _ "I think Mokuba and I are the only ones who don't like it."

"Mokuba's tastes will refine with age, and you are used to more modest garments, but this suits you well." He was still smiling, which made her feel better. Yami was her friend, and he wouldn't lie to her. By Isis, he had already said he didn't like her makeup and wig. If he liked her dress and said she looked good in it, then he was being honest.

"I will take your word on that, Yami," she stated, smiling back at him as the basin of water and everything else arrived. _'At least he doesn't like the makeup. That's something. And I won't have to wear a wig again. Seth won't go against the Pharaoh, and neither will Hollic. And if he says I look good in the dress, maybe I should wear more of them.'_

Yami took the cloth and dampened it with the water. Then, he began gently rubbing her face, taking off much of the makeup. He left only the lip color. Finally, he applied a very thin line of kohl around her eyes.

'_It's a good thing I trust him, or I would be afraid of him poking out my eyes,' _she thought.

"There, that looks much better on you," Yami finally announced.

Lily grinned. "I'm glad," she told him. "So may we eat now? I am famished."

The Pharaoh laughed. "Yes, we may eat now." With a gesture, food was brought forth and set before them as the basin of water, the cloth, and the stick of kohl were taken away. The slaves were highly efficient, to say the least.

She enjoyed the food, talking with Yami and relaxing. She especially enjoyed not having to wear the wig or heavy makeup. No one interrupted them, and all the guards and servants stayed away. The only time the servants approached the table was when an empty plate needed to be taken away. For the most part, her and the Pharaoh had a little bit of privacy, which was the rarest thing in the world.

All too soon the lunch was over, and Yami had to go back to his duties. Lily went her own way after a quick good-bye, heading toward the garden. Until late that night, it would be the closest thing to freedom she would experience.

She spent the rest of her afternoon outside, only going inside for dinner with her brothers. Seth didn't remark on her hair or makeup, but she hadn't expected him to. Yami had likely spoken to him sometime after her lunch with the Pharaoh. Mokuba commented, expressing his approval of all but the dress, and Lily agreed with him. She not only looked better, she felt better without everything on.

Hollic clucked at her after dinner, shaking her head at her mistress. Lily had merely explained the situation to her friend, saying that it had been the Pharaoh's wish. No one disobeyed Yami, so Hollic agreed to no more wigs or heavy makeup. The servant did agree that she looked more natural without all the makeup, but Hollic was a traditionalist. She believed that a female didn't look royal without the wig or heavy makeup.

Lily suffered through her friend's clucking and lecturing about how a proper princess should look up until the moon was high in the sky. At that point, she smiled and left the room, leaving a knowing Hollic behind.

It was little work to scale the wall in the garden again, or to make her way to the meeting spot. Sadly, Bakura hadn't made it to the meeting spot yet, but she was a little early. So, she sat down to wait, admiring the stars and breathing in the fresh air.

'_It really is much nicer outside the palace. Someday, I'll find a way to spend all day out here, just enjoying the sights, sounds, and smells. I bet that the market is most entertaining,' _she thought, picking at the hem of the cloak hiding her body. She hadn't thought to change her dress before she had left, but she had removed all the jewelry.

Lily stretched her arms over her head, enjoying the peace and quiet. At least, she was until she heard rather vile cursing. Automatically she turned her head in the direction of the noise.

It was Bakura, his shirt spattered with blood. He wasn't walking quite straight, and his outfit had been cut up. The thief had obviously been in a fight.

"Bakura, what happened to you?" Lily lurched to her feet as the tomb robber stumbled. His right cheek had been cut, and the eye on that side had swollen shut. _'Oh dear Isis. What has he been through?' _she wondered. _'The poor guy.'_

"Nothing. I'm fine. It'll heal soon enough," he grumbled at her. "I'm surprised you haven't fainted from the sight of blood yet, princess."

She scowled at him. "Shut up and come here. Let me see that wound so I can fix it, unless you want it to become infected," she snapped. Even wounded, Bakura was a pain in the butt. _'Let's see if I can use my item now. I'm supposed to be able to heal, but I've never tried before. Please, Isis, let this work.' _

He glared at her. "You never know when to keep quiet."

"Of course not. I never have. Now, sit down." She firmly grasped his arm and forced him to the ground, which wasn't easy. He fought her the entire time. "Stay still, dammit!" _'Work, work, work,' _she pleaded with her bracelet. _'Heal him, for Ra's sake.'_ Nothing happened, and she mentally cursed some more.

Delicately chewing on her bottom lip, she tore off a piece of her robe and tried to clean away some of the blood. Bakura had been sliced once down his cheek and two times across it. Some dirt still hadn't been bled out of the wound, so she tried to clean it out, earning curses from the thief as she did so.

A single tear leaked out of the corner of one of her eyes as she worked. Bakura was in pain, and there was nothing she could do about it. _'You're not so great, you stupid bracelet. You won't even heal him! Fix his cut now!'_ She imagined that the bleeding had stopped already and that the wound was closing. More than anything, she wanted that to happen at the moment. She could picture Bakura smiling at her once he felt better, grateful that she had helped him out for once.

Suddenly, her hands began to glow, and she dropped the bloody cloth in her shock. The bleeding stopped, and the wound began to close up. Surprised, her concentration broke, and the glow ceased.

"What was that?" Bakura snapped irritably, his voice betraying the pain he felt. "What was the glowing? If you're trying something stupid, I suggest you stop right now."

"Shush," she hissed, quickly figuring out what she needed to do. "Be quiet and let me concentrate." _'I have to concentrate or this won't work. Please, let me finish healing Bakura.' _ Focusing her mind, the wound began to slowly close again. Her head hurt, and she felt tired, but she didn't stop until the cuts were closed. There was a scar left, but her head hurt too much to get rid of it. Besides, she thought it made the tomb robber look dashing.

"You…" Bakura felt his cheek, brushing off dried blood. He stared at her in surprise. "What did you do?"

"I healed you." She grumbled softly, trying to find a position in which her head didn't ache as much. "Now, don't get all mushy on me. My head hurts, and I don't think I could take it." Finally, she rested her forehead against Bakura's shoulder, since he was being kind enough not to move at all. The pain suddenly eased, and she sighed in relief.

The thief glared at her. "What are you doing?" he asked, not making any moves to get her off him.

"My head hurts, and this makes me feel better. I healed you, so you owe me," she spat out at him. "Get over it. I'm not moving and neither are you until I don't feel like someone's pounding me on the head with a boulder."

"You are acting like a child," he retorted.

"Well, you trying dealing with this headache I've got," she snapped back, not wanting to deal with his attitude. _'For Isis's sake, can he not stay quiet for a few minutes and let me recover?'_ For a while, she merely concentrated on breathing in and out slowly to calm herself. Bit by bit, her headache faded, and miraculously, Bakura didn't utter a single sound the entire time. She was thrilled, to say the least. She kept leaning her head on his shoulder, enjoying it for just a few moments longer. It was a pleasant feeling to touch him, and he smelled like the desert underneath the scent of blood.

Finally, she made herself sit up straight, and as soon as she did that, Bakura ended the silence. "Are you up to your lessons tonight?" he asked, and interestingly enough, he didn't sound mean or grumpy. His tone was neutral, almost soft.

"Yes, I think so," she answered, standing up. "So now, how about we go win some money at Nine Men's Morris?"

"Someone is eager to play my pet again," he commented wickedly.

She playful slapped his arm. "Nope. I just want to see everyone's faces as they lose to us. Playing your pet is just an unfortunate cost I have to pay."

"You'd better be careful, or I just might think you don't want me to teach you any more."

Lily looked at him in surprise, her teal eyes meeting mischievous chocolate ones. "You're teasing me," she said softly in amazement. "You're actually teasing me." _'I can barely believe it. He's actually being playful.' _She smiled at him. _'I like this side of him.' _

"Do you have a problem with that, princess, or should swing you over one shoulder and carry you to the tavern, just to see what everyone will say?" Bakura replied in the same tone.

She crossed her arms, glaring at him. "You will not carry me like a sack of grain. I am not some cheap whore for you to cart around like that."

He laughed, the sound wonderfully deep and rich. It wasn't a laugh at her expense or an evil laugh in any way. It was a simple laugh of amusement. The tomb robber actually sounded happy.

'_If I could find a way to package that laugh and keep it with me, I'd be in a good mood all day long. Ra, I do love his laugh.'_ She smiled at him, unable to help herself.

"No, you're not a whore," Bakura agreed. "You're a noblewoman who's nearly impossible for a man to deal with. I'd love to see someone try and seduce you." He nuzzled her neck suddenly, causing her to jump in surprise. He chuckled. "Come on then. Let's go to the tavern. My purse is feeling a little too light tonight."

"I think your purse is always feeling a little too li—" She gasped in surprise when Bakura actually picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. "What do you think you're doing?" she demanded to know.

"Carrying you." The thief sounded like he was enjoying tormenting her.

"This is undignified!" Lily protested, lightly banging her fists against his back. The last time someone had carried her like this, she had been a mere child that had just thrown her first and last full-blown temper tantrum.

"Yes, but it with prove to the men at the tavern that you are my pet, and not some loose woman." He patted the back of her thigh a little close to her butt for decency, not that she minded. "Don't worry. I won't drop you, unless of course you decide to wiggle around too much, and then you'll force me to drop you onto the hard ground. I'd rather not do that, since it would make sitting on my lap a bit uncomfortable for you."

She sighed, giving up. "You are impossible," she muttered.

"Yes, but so are you," Bakura replied nonchalantly and began whistling as he walked down the back streets toward the tavern.

'_Isis, what kind of man have I gotten myself involved with?'_


	19. Chapter 19

Stolen Hearts Across Time

Chapter Nineteen

Lily practically danced into the game shop, humming softly. She had enjoyed her dreams last night; she had enjoyed them very much. Kami, Bakura had been so sexy and amusing in the past. Finding both Ryou and Yugi at the counter, she flashed them a brilliant smile. She was definitely happy to see them, especially Ryou. _'After we find the eye and stop whoever is trying to hurt us, we're going to visit often. I don't think I'd be happy at all not being able to see at least Ryou on a regular basis. Maybe Daddy will let me buy a place here and I can go to school with him. I would love that.' _

Ryou grinned back at her, finding her good mood infectious. Her smile brightened her face and made the whole room seem to glow. He wasn't sure why she was so happy, although he didn't think it was too important. She was happy, and that was what mattered. _'Unless, of course, I'm the reason's she's so happy. Then it would matter,' _he thought before he knew it. He wasn't sure where that thought had come from, but he couldn't say it was a lie.

Lily walked up to the two boys, giving Ryou a gentle kiss on the cheek. "Hello, you two," she said brightly and turned to look at much shorter boy. "Yugi, are you coming with us this today, or is your grandfather still not feeling well?"

Yugi had been slightly surprised when Lily had kissed Ryou, although she was a very friendly girl. _'Did I miss anything?'_ he wondered, curious as to if Ryou could turn an even brighter red. "Grandpa is doing fine, so I'll be going with you two."

_It's probably a good thing we're going,_ Yami told his aibou. _Their relationship seems to be developing far too fast._

'_Why is that a problem? If they like each other, we should leave them alone,' _Yugi replied firmly. _'They are our friends.'_

_But what will happen if something goes wrong between them and they have a disagreement? Lily will lose the help of both Ryou and the ring. Once you add the heart into the equation, things become much more difficult,_ the Pharaoh stated. _For now, it would be better if they kept things to friendship._

'_That's a very good point, but I don't think we should get involved,'_ the young boy said, and the spirit, after a moment, agreed.

"Good. It's wonderful to hear that he's doing better," Lily replied, mentally giggling at Ryou's blush. He looked so sweet. _'Did Bakura ever blush like that?'_

_No, he most definitely did not._ Lilian ginned. _At least, not when I could see._

"We should get going soon," Ryou said, glancing at Yugi.

The short boy nodded and shouted to his grandfather, who was in the back room. "Grandpa, I'm heading out with Lily and Bakura."

"That's fine. Be back by dinner," a voice shouted back from the other room.

Yugi smiled. "I will." He shoved his hands in his pockets as he began to walk out of the store. "Where are we searching today?" he asked as he strolled alongside his friends.

Lily blinked and looked at the white-haired boy. "I… don't know. That's a good question. Ryou?"

Ryou thought about that for a moment as he checked his millennium item. "It's not pointing in any particular direction, so I suppose we can just walk around, maybe check out the eastern side of town."

_I'm surprised our annoying enemy hasn't attacked us recently,_ the tomb robber said to his host body, tone almost thoughtful.

'_We were attacked only two days ago!' _Ryou mentally shouted back in surprise, finding his spirit's concept of time unusual.

_Shut up!_ Bakura snapped. _What do you know?_

Ryou cringed. _'Sorry, it's just that it can't be easy to attack someone's mind, especially from a distance,' _he replied softly. _'And in our attack both of our soul rooms were attacked. When the person attacked Lily, only one soul room was attacked.'_

_You have a very good point,_ the thief admitted reluctantly. He hated to admit that anyone else but _him_ was right. _Nothing was tried yesterday, but then, Lily slept most of the day._

"Have you picked up on anything yet?" Lily asked Ryou, pulling him out of his conversation with the spirit.

"Nothing yet," he replied after a quick look at his ring.

She sighed. "Yugi, has Yami remembered anything yet? We could use a little more information, even if it doesn't seem important."

_Honestly, why does she even bother with him? He's _useless, Bakura grumbled. Ryou ignored him.

'_Yami, anything yet?' _Yugi asked his spirit.

_My memory is as blank as it was yesterday and the day before. I haven't remembered anything new since Lily showed me the bracelet._ Yami shook his head. _My memory seems to be blocked almost._

"Sorry, but he's remembered nothing new," Yugi told the girl, smiling softly in apology.

Lily sighed softly. "Oh well. Such as life." She was quiet for a moment. "I wish I could help more as well. Lilian doesn't remember anything either." _'At least nothing of importance.' _

"Perhaps we're approaching it from the wrong direction. Who does your father consider as an enemy?" Yugi inquired. It seemed possible, even likely, that the same person that had taken the eye had the extra item that enabled them to attack minds.

"Far too many people. I couldn't even begin to count them all. Past employees and business partners, fellow businessmen and the vast majority of the people he knows. There are days I think the only people he fully trusts are Croquet and myself." She hung her head and gently rubbed her temples. "This path will get us no where."

"I got something!" Ryou interrupted excitedly, feeling better since Yugi and Lily stopped their conversation. He hated to admit it, but he had felt a little jealous, although how much of that was from Bakura, he didn't know. He didn't want to know.

Lily grinned. "Excellent. I was waiting for you and the ring to pick up something," she said, her tone bubbly. "Lead the way!"

----------------------------------

Ryou led them down multiple streets, sometimes backtracking. The ring's signal seemed to be weak, because every so often the triangles on the ring would go limp. However, the ring would soon pick up the signal again and the hunt would continue.

Lily frowned when they ended up in a not so nice section of town. "This has happened a few too many times," she stated, both nervous and annoyed. Most likely they were being toyed with. "Either the person is here, or he's leading us astray."

"Either way, let's keep going," Yugi said. _'She is right though, and my money is on us being led astray. Still, we have to be sure.'_

Bakura quickly took over the body, not liking their current location. He was not about to risk his health or Lily's well-being. "Lily, stay close to me," Bakura advised as soon as he had full control. Ryou had put up a little bit of a fight, but he was not about to let his wussy aibou handle any dangerous situations, nor was he going to let anything happen to his healer. Honestly, his aibou wasn't good for very much.

She nodded her head and moved closer to the white-haired boy. She had a bad feeling, although she wasn't sure exactly why. She felt a little safer next to Ryou, although she was guessing that Bakura had taken over. Brushing her hand against his confirmed that fact.

When they turned a corner onto a narrow street, Lily learned that she had been nervous for a very good reason. Seven gangsters had been waiting for them, all of them armed with knives. When one of the gangsters took a step forward, Lily thought she saw the flash of a gun.

'_Kami, help us,' _she mentally pleaded. _'We are so screwed.'_ While she had complete faith in Bakura and Yugi, two guys were not going to be able to beat seven opponents armed with knives and possibly even guns. When Yugi grew a few inches and his hair became spikier, she felt a little bit more at ease. Yami would be better at fighting than Yugi.

_I think we'll be okay,_ Lilian said softly to further comfort her aibou. _Bakura is no pushover, and we have the Pharaoh with us._ She paused as one of the thugs attacked Bakura. _Still, it wouldn't hurt to back up a bit and give them more room. Maybe get out of sight?_

'_Agreed. Let's go around the corner so they can't see us, but we'll still be close by in case we need to heal someone.'_ Lily did just that, positioning herself around the corner, but she couldn't help but take frequent and long peaks at the fight. Two gangsters were already down, since the thief and the Pharaoh were working together. It was really quite amazing, and neither of her friends had been injured yet, thank kami.

_They'll be at each other's throats afterwards, but for now they're working together to keep us all safe._ The princess smiled, amused despite everything.

'_Which I will praise Bakura for later,' _Lily replied, but then her attention shifted. _'I hear a car. Maybe it's the police?' _ That thought definitely raised her hopes. The cops would solve so many problems.

_If they were cops coming to our rescue, then there'd be sirens,_ Lilian stated blunted. _Unless they're just running their route._

'_Let's wait and see.'_ Lily glanced between the fight and the street, rooting for her friends against the gangsters and praying that the car she had heard was the cops. Soon enough, while Bakura was ramming his knee into a gangster's stomach, a large black car turned onto the street.

_That's not the police,_ Lilian said, worry in her voice.

The black car stopped right in front of her, and Lily felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise up. Two men stepped out of the car, and she relaxed.

Both of the men were dressed in jeans, colored button-down shirts, and jean jackets. They had friendly smiles on their faces, and while both men were good looking, one was exceptionally handsome with black hair, tan skin, and bright blue eyes in a most vivid shade. The other man had dull black/brown hair, hazel eyes, and olive skin. For all that they looked good, she had to admit that she preferred Bakura's looks to theirs very much.

The blue-eyed man bowed slightly to her. "You look a little lost. Is there any place I might take you?"

'_He does have a nice voice,'_ she thought. _'It's not quite as deep as Bakura's voice, but it's nice enough. However, surely he's noticed the fight just around the corner.' _

_He looks somewhat familiar, and I don't like him. Get back to Bakura NOW!_ Lilian screamed, her voice tinted with fear.

'_Will do, although he seems harmless.'_ She smiled at the handsome man and shook her head. "That's very sweet of you to offer, but no thank you, I'm fine. Good day to your and your friend." She turned and began to quickly walk back around the corner to get closer to Bakura.

Bakura and Yami were still fighting the thugs, and more gangsters had joined the battle. There were about five people on the ground, and the boys were dealing with two opponents each. Bakura had a few minor wounds, and Yami had a gash on one arm. She would have some healing to do very soon.

She suddenly felt arms wrap around her waist and drag her backwards. She screamed automatically, drawing everyone's attention to her. A hand promptly covered her mouth, so she bit the hand as she was carried off. She saw her friends try to follow, but the gangsters stopped them.

The man she had bit cursed but kept a tight grip on her, and soon, despite her struggling, she was shoved into the trunk of the black car.

'_Oh, Kami, I'm dead,' _she thought, trying to find a way to open the trunk from the inside. There was no latch, no handle, no nothing, and she could feel the car speeding down the road. Yami and Bakura wouldn't be able to catch up. _'Why me?'_ she wailed. _'Why now? They can't possibly know who my dad is!' _

_Perhaps our enemy is behind this. We are at a severe disadvantage since we do not know whom our enemy is,_ Lilian replied, remaining calm. She'd had 5,000 years to perfect that calm. _And Bakura will come after us. He can use his ring, after all._

Lily blinked. _'You're right,'_ she agreed, settling down a little, for all that she was still scared. She'd never been kidnapped before, and she had no clue what the men wanted to do with her. _'But it can't hurt to try and escape on our own.'_

---------------------------------

Bakura cursed vividly as he stabbed one of the gangsters in the chest and Yami took out the two final thugs. He was going to kill the bastards that had taken Lily away from him, and it was going to be a slow, painful death. The car was obviously too far away to run after it, but he would find and take his Lily back.

Through pure concentration he kept calm, despite the fact that he was seeing red. Rage heated his blood, fueled by the possessiveness that he suddenly felt toward Lily.

Bakura began stalking off, heading in the direction the car had drove away in. After he had mentally rested for a moment, he would use his ring. Lily could never hide from him in a place where he couldn't eventually find her.

"Wait, Bakura," Yami called out. "We should get the others to come with us. We don't know what we're up against."

The white-haired boy turned to glare at the Pharaoh. Was he really that stupid? Did he not know how easy it would be for the men to kill Lily in the time it would take to gather up the idiot's friends? "I don't have time for that. You go do what you want. I'm going after Lily NOW." _'Stupid, useless Pharaoh.' _

Yami paused, surprised at the tone in Bakura's voice. _'I've never heard him sound like that before. There's so much hurt and anger in his voice.' _

_He's hurt and scared,_ Yugi said softly. _He's spent more time with Lily than the rest of us have._ He paused as Bakura continued running off. _We should go with him._

'_A two-man rescue team won't likely be enough. We'll go get help and meet up with him later.' _ "Bakura!" he shouted and the other boy turned around, eyes blazing. "Call the game shop when you find Lily. I'll have gathered everyone by then, and we'll head to where you are and help."

Bakura growled. "Go do what you think you must," he snarled in reply, turning around and walking off. _'I have a few knives on me from the thugs, and if I want I can remove the bastards' souls. In fact, that sounds good. I don't need the pathetic Pharaoh.' _

Even as he fumed, he kept a tight lockdown on his aibou. He did not need the young wuss distracting him because he was being violent. Lily had to be rescued, and no one was going to stop him from doing just that.

_-----------------------------------_

Lily felt the car sop and shut off, and then she heard some kind of large motor, like the ones used to lift cars or close large garage doors. She prepared herself and waited for the trunk to open.

Her wait proved fruitful. The man with the black hair and blue eyes opened the trunk. As son as she saw his face, she lashed out, punching him square in the nose. She heard a crunching noise, and pain shot through her hand. Ignoring the pain as best as possible, she leapt out of the trunk and froze. She was surrounded by about fifteen men, all armed and most carrying guns.

Lily cursed loudly as she cradled her hand against her chest. _'Bakura and Yami had better come with reinforcements, otherwise we're screwed.'_


	20. Chapter 20

Stolen Hearts Across Time

Chapter Twenty

Lily had to admit, her situation wasn't too bad. She was _only_ tied up so well that the ropes were digging sharply into her body and rubbing her skin raw. _And_ the position she was in was causing her muscles to cramp, _and_ she could barely breathe, let alone whimper around the gag in her mouth. Honestly, she didn't see a reason for such precautions. Just because she had broken one guy's nose, bruised another's ribs, and slammed her elbow into a guy's stomach, did not mean she was dangerous. It certainly didn't explain the gag and the ten men lounging around the room that were keeping an eye on her. Even the gang leader was in the room, making sure she caused no more trouble.

Lily mentally sighed. _'I wonder where Bakura and Yami are. Maybe they've already gathered all their friends together, although they'll probably won't try to rescue us until tonight or in the early morning.' _ She glanced at the gang leader. He was lounging around in what she guessed was a stolen convertible that currently had it's top down. His hair was long and brown, and he was dressed in jeans and a leather jacket. His voice was annoying and arrogant, and Kami, did she ever want to kick him.

"We're not giving her up, not yet," the leader told the gangster that was arguing with him. "We're going to ransom her. She _is_ the daughter of Pegasus.

The gang member shook in fear. "But we were ordered to hand her over tomorrow. I don't want to piss the Shadow off." His voice shook just like his body, his tone one of terror.

_The Shadow?_ Lilian repeated. _Who's the Shadow?_

'_No clue, but obviously he's important… and scary,' _Lily replied, cocking her head slightly to the side. _'And obviously this Shadow knows who I am and wanted me kidnapped.' _

_After we're free, we'll have to ask Seto is he's ever heard of this person._ Lilian sounded curious. _I'll bet he has, or I'm sure he can find out. He's quite resourceful._

'_For right now, I'm mostly interested in loosening these bonds. They hurt!' _

-------------------------------------------------

Bakura mentally growled. Things were proving to be a little more difficult that he had expected. Tracking Lily had been hard enough, but now he couldn't find a way to get inside the building without alerting everyone to his presence. He could easily defeat them all, but it would be tiresome.

'_Two entrances… the giant garage door and the regular door, if you don't count the windows, all of which are either too small or too high up for me to get through,' _he thought. _'It seems I don't have much of a choice.'_

With deftness and ease, he unlocked the door. He was met with two idiot gangsters that weren't even facing the door and were so busy whining to each other that they hadn't even heard him enter.

With one hand on his ring, he flexed his power around their souls, his ring glowing. That drew their attention, and they turned around. They looked surprised, but instead of attacking, they remained frozen. Smirking, Bakura tugged, forcing their souls out of their body. Like long, long ago, he forced the souls into a tiny, physical form as the bodies collapsed.

He picked up the inch high game pieces, both shaped like the chibi gangsters. _'It's felt like ages since I've done this.' _ He set the pieces off to the side. _'Now to find Lily.' _

-----------------------------------------------

Lily was sweating in fear. Kidnapping for ransom she had expected, but some of the gangsters had informed her (taunted her, more like it) that she was supposed to be given to the Shadow so the Shadow could kill her. For all that the leader wanted to ransom her, she wasn't so sure that would happen. No one else agreed with him. They all wanted to hand her over, maybe even tie her up with a pretty bow to show a little more good will. The fact that the gangsters were all so terrified of the Shadow just scared her more. The thugs were used to things being scary and fighting all the time, and anyone that could scare a whole gang, minus the leader, scared her.

'_Kami, I don't want to die…' _she mentally whimpered as she struggled against the ropes that bound her. _'Why don't we have any powers hat can help us escape?' _

_Because that is life. We will be fine. Have faith in our friends,_ Lilian said to comfort her hikari. _They will rescue us._

'_I have plenty of fait in them. The problem I have is believing they'll get here in time.' _She bit down on her gag hard when she fought a little too hard against her bonds, rubbing her skin hard enough to cause her wrists to bleed. She cursed vividly, her sounds muffled by the gag. Kami, she wanted to be free.

Lilian hugged her aibou's soul close to her own. _Be patient, little one. Everything will be okay in time,_ she said softly, soothingly.

'_I don't think we have much time!' _Lily mentally screamed, beginning to panic. She had never been kidnapped before, and she had certainly never had death looming at her before, at least not alone. The last scary situation she had been in, she'd had Bakura there. He always made everything better.

_But panicking will do you no good,_ the princess advised. _Calm down._

The young girl scowled. _'It's better than doing nothing,' _she replied sharply, her temper helping her control her fear. _'It's not like I can do anything else!' _ She warily watched a gangster as he approached her. He was bald and dressed simply, the only thing that stood out on him was a shark earring hanging from his left ear.

"You realize that you're hurting yourself, right?" he asked her softly. She nodded her head, causing him to sigh. His eyes held a look of regret; he certainly didn't seem to be enjoying himself. "I wouldn't go against the Shadow in anything; it's suicide to do so. However, I hate mistreating females. My mother raised me right."

'_He's kind of sweet, but unless he releases us, I will be just as displeased with him as everyone else.' _ Lily continued to watch him.

"Try to understand. The Shadow is slowly taking over the city. The Shadow has most of the gangs under control; when people started dropping dead or comatose for no reason, every gang affected couldn't serve the Shadow soon enough." He patted her shoulder. "Forgive us. Normally we'd never bother with someone like you, but we didn't have much of a choice." He glanced over at his leader. "I'll be back in a moment to clean up your wounds a little."

His eyes were so sad that Lily's heart went out to him. _'It sounds like the gangs were attacked by the same person that attacked me. No wonder they're terrified.' _ She watched him walk away.

_Very true, although I do admit that I'm a little fearful now. This Shadow person is obviously cruel. I don't want to meet him anytime soon._ The spirit was shaking, for all she tried to remain calm and keep her voice steady.

Lily nodded her head emphatically. _'Neither do I.' _

---------------------------------------------

Bakura stabbed a man in the stomach and then rammed another into the wall so hard the man collapsed, unconscious. _'What weaklings.' _ As time passed he was becoming more and more short tempered. He hadn't found Lily yet, and that pissed him off. The blood on his shirt pissed him off too, as did the steady rain of annoying gangsters. In fact, everything was annoying him. If Lily wasn't in the building, then he was going to burn it down to the ground for being such an annoyance.

He had lost count of the number of gangsters he had killed, soul-removed, or knocked unconscious. They were all such idiots. He peaked through a window in a door to see if Lily was in the room. She wasn't, but about five thugs were. How many guys were here to keep her from escaping? What was more, there were different gangs here.

He turned a few corners, peaking into what rooms he could. When he opened a door, someone slammed something down onto his head.

Cursing loudly, he lashed out at the person with a knife, slicing the muscles in his thighs. The thug when down, screaming in pain, and in return, Bakura rammed the hilt of his knife into the idiot's temple. _'Okay, forget annoyed. I'm pissed, not to mention that the idiot probably screamed loud enough to alert the entire place to my presence.' _ Sighing, he continued wandering around the giant warehouse, praying that what was left of his patience would hold out until he found Lily.

'_When I find her, I'm going to tell her to listen to me next time. If she had just stayed close to me, she would have been fine. No one would have touched her; I would have killed them, and she knew that,' _he grumbled, beginning to contemplate physically tying her to him whenever they went out anywhere.

He heard shouting down the hall. So the idiots knew that he was here… finally. Well, he figured it was time to start really destroying the gangsters. After all, they had taken his Lily from him, and now they would pay.

--------------------------------------

The man came back with a wet cloth and tried to smile at her. "If I untie your hands, do you promise not to run or hurt me?"

Lily contemplated that for a moment and then nodded her head. _'It will ease the pain in my wrists for a little bit, and it's not like I can run that far. There's too many guys around here.' _

"Good, although if you did try to run, I'm sure someone would catch you within moments." His expression was sad, but he untied her wrist bonds. She almost screamed at the pin and needles feeling that shot up and down her arm and hand when she moved the tiniest amount. Oh kami, she felt like someone was stabbing every inch of her skin.

The man gently washed the blood of her hands, massaging her muscles a little. "I wish I could untie you and remove the gag, but the leader says no. He's taking no chances." He paused. "Although I won't tie you as tight as before. There's no point in cutting off your circulation."

For all that she couldn't smile, she tried to show her appreciation in her eyes as he did just that. The bonds were tight enough she couldn't escape, but they didn't hurt as bad as before. What was even better, he tied the bonds in a place that wouldn't rub against her wounds.

He patted her shoulder. "Just hang in there. If things work out the way the leader wants, you'll be ransomed tomorrow. He's just trying to find a way to get a hold of your father."

'_Good luck. He's in the hospital, and is only taking calls from me. Everyone else Croquet is ordered to tell them to call back at another time.' _She mentally smirked, feeling a little better. As long as the leader had his way, she would be ransomed, and that would likely save her life. Even if the members turned on him, it probably wouldn't be for a little while, giving Bakura and Yami more time to rescue her.

She relaxed, and she felt her spirit do the same. _See, I told you not to panic,_ the princess teased.

'_Yeah, yeah, yeah.'_ Lily's attention shifted when a guy went running up to the leader, blabbering about some kind of intruder.

The bald guy went over to the leader to try and figure out what was going on, and soon Lily had enough information to know that a white-haired guy had entered the warehouse and was kicking some serious butt. Unfortunately, he had come alone, although that didn't seem to be stopping him.

_Only Bakura._ Lilian shook her head, sighing. _Isis, he would come here alone. I bet that Yami went for help and Bakura didn't want to wait. He has never cultivated patience, and I don't see why he would have developed that trait in these last few millennia._

Lily wanted to bang her head against something repeatedly as a large group of guys went through the door toward what she assumed was Bakura. _'Lovely,' _she thought with a sigh and then began to pray for him. _'Kami, don't let him die.' _

-------------------------------------

Bakura slammed his fist into a thug's stomach and then uppercutted him under his chin. The thug went down, and suddenly he heard a sound that reminded him of a stampede. He frowned, and then realized that at least ten men were rushing at him, running down the hall, knives drawn and chains whirling.

"You people are pathetic," Bakura snarled, although he was quickly calculating the odds of him winning in hand to hand combat. There was simply too many for him to fight. He would have to remove their souls, although that wouldn't be a very simple matter. There were so many of them.

"You're gonna die, punk," a gangster snapped, lashing out at the white-haired boy.

In return, the tomb robber grabbed his ring and flexed his power. He snatched at their souls, violently pulling them out of their bodies. "This will teach you to take what is mine!" he growled, watching ever gang members' soul become a tiny figurine. He staggered for a moment, feeling a little light headed. He had used a bit too much power, and now he was paying for.

'_This girl is too much trouble, she really is,' _Bakura thought as he kicked aside the figurines and walked over the bodies down the hall. _'Although they can't have too many more men left. They probably sent most of the men at me in this bunch.' _ He smirked. _'And I bet Lily isn't too far from here.' _

He continued to walk down the hall, and soon he came to one final door. Although he wouldn't admit it, even to himself, he was really hoping there weren't too many men guarding Lily. He wasn't sure how much longer he could go for. Her certainly didn't have enough power to remove their souls. Lily owed him, without a doubt, and he planned on collecting.

He stormed though a door, and almost immediately saw Lily… along with five men, one of which was lounging around in a car. Great, and Lily was tied quite thoroughly to a chair. He felt his blood boil at seeing her all tied up, and then he completely saw red when he noticed her wrist wounds. The bastards had hurt her, and they would all pay for that in blood… or maybe even their lives.

A knife in each hand, he rushed at the enemy, the blades flashing. Ra, he was pissed, and he was going to destroy them all for all the trouble he'd had to go to.

Lily struggled anew against her bonds, thrilled that Bakura was finally there. _'I'm not sure how he defeated them all, but… thank goodness he's here.' _Relief coursed through her, and she felt tears prick her eyes. She was saved… Everything would be alright now; all she had to do was wait. She watched gangster after gangster go down, but when Bakura turned on the guy who had helped her, she tried to scream, to tell Bakura that he didn't need to hurt the bald guy. She couldn't do it though.

Bakura stabbed the bald guy in the arm and then slammed his fist into the guy's face. Lily began to cry for him, but at least he would live. The thief king had left him alive.

The white-haired boy turned to her, and she watched the anger, the rage, drain out of his eyes and face. "You just don't know how to stay out of trouble," he grumbled. "And stop crying!"

Lily nodded her head, breathing a sigh of relief when he removed her gag. She stretched her jaw and tried re-moisturizing her lips as Bakura worked on her wrist bindings. "What took you so long?" she wanted to know, feeling irked at him for yelling at her. Her voice was somewhat rough from the gag that had been in her mouth for so long. It wasn't her fault that she had been captured. "And why did you come by yourself? That was stupid!" _'Kami, if he had died, I would never have forgiven myself.' _

_It wasn't your fault he came on his own,_ Lilian replied soothingly, gently stroking her aibou's hair. _He can be foolish and impulsive, and he's highly possessive. Probably all he could see this entire time was red, so try not to blame yourself._

'_I will try,' _Lily promised.

"Do you want to be saved, or not?" he snapped. He was so glad that she was no longer crying. He could deal with her anger much better than he could deal with her pain and tears. He would do whatever was needed for her tears to go away. For a split second he had the urge to kiss her senseless and make her promise to never, ever leave his side again, but he quickly squashed that. He was not going to kiss her, especially not right now. It wasn't the time or the place. Besides, he didn't want to kiss her.

Lily frowned at him. "You jerk! I hope you…" She trailed off when she noticed all of his wounds. He had a cut on his skull, multiple wounds on her arms, and a few minor cuts on his chest. "Bakura, you're hurt!" She winced when she could move her arms so she could heal him. She couldn't quite get her muscles to work properly, and she hurt. Groaning, she clutched her arms to her chest, trying to ignore the pain. Bakura was hurt; she needed to heal him, but she couldn't force her arms to move correctly.

Bakura frowned at her. "Will you shut up long enough for me to get you out of here?" he growled, annoyed at her. Couldn't she sit still long enough for him to save her? "Unless you want me to leave you tied up here?"

"Dammit, will you stop being so pissy! You weren't the one who was kidnapped and told your fate was either ransom or death," she snapped back, her voice a mere hiss as she dealt with the aches and pains of her muscles. _'Kami, I want to go home and sit in a hot bath.' _

_That sounds wonderful. I wonder if we could convince Bakura to help us bathe, and he does need to wash the blood off himself too, and we do have a giant bathtub in our apartment…_

'_Lilian!' _the young girl squeaked, shocked beyond belief, her cheeks turning red. She was so happy that Bakura wasn't paying close attention to her face; she didn't want to explain why she was blushing.

The tomb robber freed her legs and then began to massage one of her calves. It hurt, but she knew that he was trying to help her, so she kept from kicking him in a knee-jerk reaction.

'_Ra, this is pointless. We're going to be here forever.' _"Forget this." He swept her up in his arms, wincing slightly. "We're leaving before anyone wakes up."

Lily merely nodded, deciding not to argue, especially when she felt the blood seep through his shirt and through her own clothing. She needed to deal with his wounds now. Biting her bottom lip to keep from whimpering in pain, she buried her hands in his bloodied shirt. Closing her eyes, she sent out her magic, picturing Bakura whole and healthy.

Bakura paused for a second when he felt her magic begin to work on him. Why she wasn't healing herself first, he didn't know. She was the one in so much pain. But then again, he was still running on adrenaline, and he couldn't feel anything beyond anger and relief. Lily felt wonderful in his arms; he was the only one that could keep her safe anymore.

As soon as they were outside the building and walking away, he tightened his grip on her slightly. He knew that she wouldn't be able to walk, especially after she worked the healing on him. She had been so weak the first time, and it wouldn't be easier now, since she was healing so many more wounds.

Lily finally returned to the real world when she had finished healing Bakura. Her muscles felt a little bit better, but she was still stiff, and the pins and needles feeling still plagued her muscles. She yawned, and snuggled close to him, ignoring the blood. "So where are we going?" she inquired softly. It was easier to get over the kidnapping now that she was safe and sound and in Bakura's arms. There was definitely no safer place.

"To my place, where you will wash before you sit or lay down on anything. You are now covered in blood as well," he replied stiffly.

"Okay." She was too tired to argue, so she decided not to. Besides, a bath did sound heavenly.

_Oooooh, ask if we can wash up together!_ Lilian insisted, knowing that her silliness would also help keep her hikari from having too many ill effects from the whole affair.

'_Hai, hai, hai…' _she mentally replied, not really realizing what she was saying. "Lilian wants to know if we can bathe together," she mumbled, nuzzling his neck tiredly. Kami, she wanted sleep.

Bakura stumbled for a second. Surely he couldn't have heard her correctly; there was no way… _'I will ignore whatever she just said. If I ignore her, then she won't know that I heard whatever nonsense she spouted,' _he thought determinedly. _'But Ra, what kind of question was that really?' _ Although if he was honest with himself, he did want to take her up on the offer, but he wasn't attracted to her in the least, and he wanted nothing to do with her other than her ability to heal and her item.

He was tired though, and his lockdown on his aibou was weakening. Ryou slowly came to awareness, able to see, hear, and feel everything, for all that he couldn't control his own body.

_What happened?_ Ryou asked, looking down at a very tired Lily. _Where did all the blood come from?_

'_Dammit all, don't you know how to stay quiet!?' _Bakura snapped impatiently, but then he paused. _'However, whenever we are back at the apartment, you can call the idiot Pharaoh at the gameshop and tell him that the girl has been rescued.' _

The younger boy frowned. _But what happened?_ he insisted, his worry for Lily making him more bold. _She's covered in blood!_

'_Almost none of that is hers. Some of it is mine and some of it is from gangsters,' _the thief replied grumpily. _'She was kidnapped by idiots, and I saved her.' _

_Poor thing,_ Ryou said softly, feeling protective and tender towards the girl. _She must have healed you, since she's covered in your blood and so exhausted now._ Somehow he had enough control of the body to rub his cheek against the top of her head, trying to soothe her a little.

'_You're going to make me look soft. Stop that!' _Bakura didn't like sharing control of the body so thoroughly at the moment.

"Relax, Ryou, I'm fine. Don't worry," she said, voice so soft he could barely hear it, and tried to snuggle closer to him. She felt so tired that she really wasn't concentrating on speaking.

'_Well, at least she knows that it is you doing the stupid shit,' _Bakura stated, sounding pleased. _'Although you should have heard what she said before.' _ He mentally shook his head as he entered his apartment building and quickly slipped into an elevator, making sure no one saw him. _'She said that Lilian wanted to know if we would bathe with her.' _

Ryou blushed a dark red, and the spirit laughed. He had known his aibou would react thusly, which is why he had told him. He found the embarrassment rather amusing, although he was purposely forgetting his reaction to the question. Secretly he wished that every girl was as amusing as Lily, for all that the girl got into far too much trouble.

_She must not have known what she was saying, _Ryou replied, still blushing horribly.

'_No, she probably didn't,' _Bakura agreed, smirking as he walked into their apartment. _'And now I will let you deal with the girl.' _ He retreated to his soul room to sleep.

Ryou stood still for a moment, surprised as his spirit's sudden sense of humor. However, he had something more important to worry about. "Lily, are you still awake? You need to bathe and put on clean clothes." He would definitely have to get her to shower first, since she was so tired. Nudging her head with his own, he finally got her attention.

"I'm awake," she mumbled. "If you put me down, I'll go get clean… I'll need something to put on afterwards though." She nuzzled his neck.

"Can you walk?" he asked.

"Pfft. Of course I can," she replied immediately.

Ryou wasn't so sure of that, so he set her down slowly, helping support her weight as her feet touched the ground. "I can carry you to the bathroom if you need me to."

"That's sweet of you, but I'll be fine. Just check on me frequently in case I fall asleep in the shower." She patted him on the cheek and then went to the bathroom, walking stiffly. Her muscles still hurt, but the pins and needles feelings were mostly gone. In the bathroom, she quickly stripped and started the shower. _'Kami, I'm tired, although it's nice to have Ryou instead of Bakura at the moment. He's so much sweeter.' _

_True, but Bakura kept us from having hysterics when he appeared,_ Lilian added as they began to shower. _For all that you need Ryou now, we needed Bakura then._

'_Perhaps,' _the young girl admitted, rinsing out her hair. She waited until the water that came off of her and out of her hair was no longer pink, and then got out, shutting off the shower. Wrapped up in a towel, feeling half asleep, she called out to Ryou. "Ryou, you there?" she called out.

The door opened just a crack and a hand trusted a shirt into the room. She giggled and accepted it. "Thank you." She quickly put on the shirt, finding that it fell to mid-thigh in the front and back and rose to her hips on the sides. Ryou seemed to like this style of shirt. She stepped out of the shower and kissed him on the cheek. "You may want to get cleaned up now."

"I know you're tired, so why don't you go to bed?" Ryou advised, turning a little pink at the kiss she gave him. "You can take the bed or the couch, and I'll check up on you when I'm done cleaning up."

"Alright, and thank you." She didn't want to kick him out of his own bed, so she laid out on his couch, finding it rather comfortable. It didn't take long for sleep to overcome her at all.

Ryou got out of the shower and found Lily dead asleep on his couch. _'She must have been so tired after her whole ordeal today. She was kidnapped, and then she healed me,' _he thought, smiling at her. _'Now, to tell Yugi that everything is alright, although I'm unsure why Bakura called him the Pharaoh.' _ Picking up the phone, he dialed the gameshop. Yugi quickly answered it.

"Hello?" Yugi asked.

"It's Bakura," Ryou said.

Yugi breathed a sigh of relief. "We've been waiting for your call for over three hours." Ryou winced. Had it really taken that long to rescue the girl? "Have you found Lily?"

"Yes, and she's safe at my apartment," the white-haired boy replied, keeping his voice quiet enough so he wouldn't wake the girl. "She's asleep right now."

"Wait… you already rescued her?" the short boy asked, tone puzzled.

"Yes, she's already been saved." For all that he didn't know how, but that really didn't matter.

Yugi paused for a short length of time. "Why didn't you call me when you found out where she was? I gathered up everyone so we could rescue her together."

"I don't remember." In all honesty, he didn't remember, and if his spirit had been in charge, then he really didn't want to remember anything either. His spirit was violent to the extreme.

"I guess you were just too worried about Lily to really think then." For all that Yugi tried to keep his voice neutral, although Bakura heard disapproval in his voice. "But we are your friends, and we're here to help. You didn't have to do it on your own."

"I know, and I'm sorry," Ryou replied. He didn't know what else to say, because he couldn't remember anything at all.

"We'll, I'll tell the others Lily's safe. Call one of us if you need any help or if something else happens to Lily," Yugi finally said.

"I will." After exchanging goodbye's, Ryou hung up the phone. He sat down in a chair and just simply watched Lily for a little while. Her damp hair trailed around her in golden waves, and after fighting the urge for a few moments, he went over to her and smoothed out her hair some, brushing some strands off her face. She really was lovely, although he wasn't sure why so many bad things happened to her. It was like she drew trouble like flames drew moths. He would have to keep a closer eye on her, and maybe go out looking for the eye and the other item without her. He certainly didn't want her to be kidnapped again.

Ryou knew that the smartest thing to do would be to convince her to go home, but the thought of her leaving hurt, so he tossed that idea aside. He would protect her to the best of his ability and just make sure that whenever she was out and about he was with her.

He kissed her tenderly on the forehead and then went into the kitchen to fix himself something to eat.

----------------------------------------------------

Yugi shook his head as he sent all his friends home, apologizing for getting them all gathered up and worried. _'Why did Bakura save her on his own? How did his save her on his own? She's Pegasus's daughter, so surely they had her thoroughly protected.' _

_I'm unsure as to how he did it. Perhaps they were idiots and left her unprotected, or maybe she escaped on her own_. Yami sighed. _What I am more curious about is why he doesn't remember. Fuzzy memories would make sense, but no memory at all?_

'_We can ask him again later. Maybe he'll remember more tomorrow,' _the young boy replied.

_Maybe,_ the spirit agreed.

They spent the rest of the day in the game shop, cleaning up and doing some restocking. Then he had dinner with his grandfather, who asked about Lily. Yugi explained that Lily was fine, and then after dinner he played with his cards for a little while, and then, exhausted, he went to bed.

---------------------------------------------

**_Yugi's Dream Time_**

Yugi sat on his throne, suddenly finding all his duties far too tedious. He was the Pharaoh, the ruler of all Egypt, yet there he was, sitting like a log as one of his advisors droned on and on about the palace livestock. Unsure about why all of it was so important, since all that truly mattered to him was that the animals were thriving, he found himself wishing for a change in pace. He needed a break in the middle of the day where he wouldn't have to listen to reports or deal with people that needed his advice or some kind of verdict. Even his lunch was supposed to be filled with reports; Seth was going to join him and inform him on everything he needed to know. But who said he couldn't change that?

A simple hand gesture was enough to bring a servant to him. "Inform Seth that I will be having lunch with Lilian this afternoon and that his report will be given after lunch. Also, tell Lilian of the changes in the schedule as well."

The servant bowed and hurried off, and Yugi suddenly felt much better. Having lunch with the princess would be refreshing and far from tedious. Besides, it gave him something to look forward to.

The boring advisor ended his report and Mahado began speaking, explaining all the repairs that were being made on the temples and how they were coming along. Yugi settled down to listen, and let the morning pass by at a slightly faster crawl than before.

Slightly before lunch, Yugi dismissed everyone and gave out orders to his guards, slaves, and servants. The guards would stand as far away as possible, and the servants and slaves would either stay out of the room or stand farther away than the guards. He couldn't totally be alone with Lilian, but it would be as close as he could make it. They were to be married eventually, so it wouldn't hurt for her to become more comfortable with him. Once they were married, they would be spending time alone together in private. Besides, he wanted to relax for a while.

Yugi heard a door open and close, and he looked up to see Lilian enter the room. Or, at least he thought it was Lilian. Her blond hair was hidden by a wig, and she had so much makeup, he couldn't see her skin. The thick khol around her eyes was just too much, contrasting horribly with her fair skin. She was practically dripping with jewelry as well. About the only good things about her appearance were her lip color and her dress, which was a lovely, nearly see-through white that he had seen on many females before. Of course, none of them had the habit of wearing much more modest clothing.

He knew that he was staring, but he found he couldn't help himself. He had a feeling that the guards were staring at her as well. The servants wouldn't, but he had a feeling they would talk about it later.

Yugi gestured to one of his few slaves that was always about. "Bring me a basin of water, a cloth, and a stick of kohl before the meal is brought to us." The slave hurried to do his bidding as Lily sat down next to him on another cushion. He was going to fix this little mess, if only because he wasn't sure he'd be able to keep a straight face as he shared the meal with her.

"Is something the matter?" Lilian asked him blithely, a polite smile on her face. She acted as if there was nothing different about her appearance, although he wasn't surprised.

"You look stupid with all that makeup on. It is all to dark, except for the lip color," he replied. "And you wearing a wig is absurd." He proceeded to remove the wig, being careful not to pull on her real hair. He didn't want to hurt her, but he wanted the wig gone. "I do not care if everyone else wears one; it does not suit you at all."

"I didn't think so either, but I did make an agreement with Seth. I honor my agreements," the princess told him softly.

Yugi shook his head. _'I'm not going to let this happen again. She looks far too foolish in this entire costume.' _ "I will overrule the agreement then. No more wigs, and no more heavy application of make-up. A fine line of kohl around your eyes, and the lip color will be more than enough for you."

"And the clothes?" she prompted.

"You are wearing a bit much jewelry, but that does not bother me. Your dress is lovely," he replied, smiling. "You look quite beautiful in it." _'Honestly, don't the servants understand restraint in certain cases? Lilian is not a normal Egyptian, so the normal Egyptian clothing and makeup may not look good on her. Although I do like the dress.' _

Lilian sighed, looking a little disappointed to him. "I think Mokuba and I are the only ones who don't like it."

"Mokuba's tastes will refine with age, and you are used to more modest garments, but this suits you well." Yugi continued to smile, hoping that would make her feel better. _'She will adjust in time, I'm sure.'_

"I will take your word on that, Yami," she stated, smiling back at him as the basin of water and everything else arrived.

Yugi took the cloth and dampened it with the water. Then, he began gently rubbing her face, taking off much of the makeup. He left only the lip color. Finally, he applied a very thin line of kohl around her eyes.

"There, that looks much better on you," he finally announced. _'That suits her fair skin so much better. I will have to see that she dresses like this more often.' _

She grinned. "I'm glad," she told him. "So may we eat now? I am famished."

He laughed. _'Such bluntness is so refreshing. I must eat with her more often. At the very least, it will make our marriage easier to adjust to if we spend more time together.' _"Yes, we may eat now." With a gesture, food was brought forth and set before them as the basin of water, the cloth, and the stick of kohl were taken away. The slaves and servants were highly efficient, to say the least.

Yugi was pleased with how the meal went. No one interrupted them, which made it easy for him to discuss things with Lilian. The only time the servants approached the table was when an empty plate needed to be taken away. For the most part, he had a little bit of privacy with Lilian, which was the rarest thing in the world. _'She really is lovely; I'm very pleased she is going to be my wife.'_

All too soon the lunch was over, and he had to go back to his duties. He sent Lilian on her way after a quick good-bye, and then he went back to work, feeling much more relaxed and rejuvenated.

_**End Dream Time**_


	21. Chapter 21

Stolen Hearts Across Time

Chapter Twenty-One

_**Lily's Dream Time**_

Lily was surprised when Bakura stopped at a place other than the tavern. "Where are we?" she asked when he set her down. The place, which was located down a back alley, looked relatively decent and clean, but it wasn't very large.

The thief scowled at her. "I'm here to change clothes," he replied stiffly. "We're going to the tavern once I change." His shirt had blood on it, enough to be noticeable, and she couldn't blame him for wanting to put on fresh clothing.

"Alright." She followed him into the building and then into a small room. The room contained a bed, table, and chest, all in pretty good condition. The bed had clean but plain blankets, the chest was solid, and the table held a basin, a cloth, and a pitcher of water.

Bakura stripped off his shirt and then poured water from the pitcher into the basin. He then began to wash off the blood as she watched, her eyes wide.

'_He is a magnificient male specimen,' _she thought, staring at him as the water droplets rolled down his shoulders and chest muscles. He body looked so enticing, that it was actually an effort for her to keep from reaching out and touching him to see if he felt as good as he looked.

The thief noticed her staring and smirked, for all that she didn't care. He finished cleaning off all the blood from his face and chest and turned to fully face her, moving so that he was scant inches away from her.

'_Oh Isis…' _ She wasn't sure what to think or do with him so close to her. "Wha-what is it, Bakura?" she asked quietly, her eyes taking in all his damp muscles. His shoulders looked exceptionally strong. _'I sound like some kind of idiot,' _she thought. _'But by Ra, he looks perfect. I wish I could keep him.' _

"You're staring," he replied, grinning wickedly.

Lily blushed, embarrassed. She hadn't thought the thief would care, and he didn't seem to, but he obviously found her amusing. Honestly, he didn't need to look down on her so, and his eyes held laughter, which angered her just enough to get over her embarrassment. "Just put on a shirt so we can get going!" she snapped impatiently.

Bakura chuckled and then moved away from her, opening the chest and pulling out some clothes. When he put them on, Lily realized that he wasn't wearing a shirt. Instead, he was wearing a thin, white open robe and a red over coat. The colors went well with his tan skin and blue kilt, but she couldn't help but find him far more distracting than she should have.

When he smirked at her, she realized that he had purposely chosen not to wear a shirt. _'Pompous jerk,'_ she thought, although she couldn't seem to get her voice to work just yet, and Bakura seemed to be enjoying the whole thing. _'Isis, why did you have to make him so distracting?' _

Lily forcibly turned away from him and went for the door. "Let's go," she said, finally finding her voice, although it was a tiny bit squeaky. "The night won't last forever."

"Then follow me, unless you would like to get lost," he taunted, obviously taking pleasure in every second that she showed just how much she found him attractive.

She glared at him, his sharp tone helping to restore her equilibrium. "Fine," she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. "Lead the way."

Bakura continued to grin as he brushed past her to head outside and lead the way to the tavern. Lily scowled, mentally calling him all sorts of unpleasant names. _'By Ra, someday I'm going to kick him for his attitude.' _

By the time they reached the tavern, stopping outside it for just a few moments, Lily had calmed down, although Bakura was still obviously still smug. She wasn't really surprised at that; after all, Bakura had to know what he looked like, and she guessed that having a princess stare at you was something to be proud of.

Lily gave a small squeak when Bakura grabbed her around the waist and pulled her close to him. She looked up at him, ready to give him a piece of her mind, but she saw him smile at her. Her heart fluttered for a second, and she suddenly forgot why she wanted to yell at him. _'I do like the feel of his body, so I suppose this really isn't so bad, and he has a very nice smile.' _

"So, my pet, are you ready to help me win some money?" Bakura asked, obviously pleased with himself, if the look in his eyes was any indication. She wondered if he ever wasn't pleased with himself.

"Of course," she replied automatically. She had a feeling she would have agreed to just about anything as long as he continued to hold her close and smile. Isis, she was feeling like a silly female, but it didn't seem to matter with Bakura around.

"Good." He steered her inside, and once again she found herself almost overwhelmed by her surroundings. The smell of alcohol and the noise definitely took a second to adjust to, and she was still somewhat taken aback by all the scantily dressed women.

Bakura sat down at a table with his friends just a few feet away from where Lily stood, and she took the time to become accustomed to her surroundings. It would definitely take a few more trips to the tavern before she could walk in and not be fazed by it.

A black-haired serving girl bumped her hip against Lily's hip. "You look a little overwhelmed, but relax." Lily looked at her in surprise, and the serving girl interpreted the look correctly, khol-lined brown eyes kind. "It's easy to see you're used to quieter places, while your guy likes noisy ones. Give yourself some time; you'll get better. Until then, take off the over-robe, and go entertain Bakura. Later on, if you want any advice, come find me. I'll be around." With a wink and a light shove, the girl walked off.

Lily smiled. Obviously some didn't mind someone new in their territory. She did as the girl, who she now considered a friend, suggested, stripping off her robe as she went to Bakura. As she hung the robe on a chair, she noticed the men staring at her, and she realized that she hadn't changed clothing. She had remove the eye and lip color as well as the jewelry; however, she hadn't thought about changing the outfit.

"Nice dress," Mekh commenting, the look in his eyes showing how much he appreciated it.

Fighting back a blush, she sat down in Bakura's lap, wigging for a moment in her nervousness. _'Why do they stare so? The other women are dressed in less.' _ Looking about the room, she spotted the serving girl from earlier smile at her and give her a quick hand gesture that she took to mean something positive. At least someone was on her side.

"Well, well, well," Bakura whispered in her ear. "You surprised me, although it was a very pleasant surprise. You should dress like this more often." Looking at the men as Lily blushed, he grinned. "Shall we begin?"

The men began to place bets, all of them inebriated in varying degrees. The more alcohol the man had consumed, the more money he placed on the game. Anub placed the largest bet, and she had a feeling they were all feeling pretty secure since they were going to be playing against a female, even if the female had Bakura helping her.

Finally, the game started, with Bakura going first and placing a white piece on the board. Anub and Gaib quickly ganged up on Bakura, which was probably why they had both placed such large bets. They had privately agreed before hand to help each other out. _'May Ra strike them down, the cheaters,' _Lily thought, frowning at them.

She didn't need to worry about her white-haired thief. He could give it as good as he got, and as the game continued, Bakura took to rubbing her arm with his thumb almost absent-mindedly. Her body had somehow become his thinking stone, or something.

Lily smiled and turned just enough to kiss him on the cheek. "Want to play like we did last time?" she asked him softly, letting her lips brush his ear gently. He smelled good, and she suddenly felt a strange urge to lick his skin to see if he tasted as good as he smelled. She resisted it, of course, but she was still curious.

Bakura snaked his left arm around her waist and placed his right hand over hers. "Of course," he replied. "And you try to distract them."

'_Distract them? How?' _she wondered, gently chewing on her lower lip. _'And I'm not about to ask Bakura. He'll answer me, but he'll be rude and condescending about it.' _ She mentally sighed, unsure of what to do or who to ask. Surely Bakura knew that she wouldn't know how to distract anyone. He had to know, since he knew that she was the princess.

She played with the long ribbon that wrapped around her torso right under her breasts and came around to tie in the front. It helped keep her dress more fitted to her form, which Hollic had said she was very important. In all honesty, she was wishing she hadn't let Hollic tie the dress. It drew too much attention to her chest.

'_If those drunken men don't stop constantly looking at my chest, I'm going to scream!' _ She didn't want to admit to herself that she was drawing their attention by playing with her clothes. She also didn't want to admit that she was doing what Bakura wanted. Having Bakura look at her was one thing; having the other men look at her was quite another. The reasoning behind this was so silly that she didn't even bother to think on it.

Bakura, using her hand to move the pieces, kept on winning. Poor Gaib was the first one to lose, which he didn't seem to mind. _'It's probably because he's staring at me,' _Lily thought.

"Well, there went that money." Gaib grinned unabashedly, and Lily giggled. Perhaps he was staring at her a bit much, but he was acting silly. "Perhaps Bakura will buy more dresses like that for you. I know we all would appreciate it." He winked at her.

She blushed even as she frowned at him. _'Isis, strike him down for being a pervert toward me!' _She knew the goddess wouldn't do it, but oh well. "Bakura will decide what I wear, not you. And he may not want you all looking at me all the time; Bakura doesn't like to share." She knew her tone was stiff and arrogant, but she didn't care. By all the gods, she wanted the men to start looking somewhere else.

Gaib merely laughed as the game continued. Bakura slightly tightened his grip on her waist in a warning. Obviously he wasn't pleased with her outburst.

Lily mentally sighed and relaxed into his hold. The white-haired man continued to guide her hand in placing the pieces, and once again she was amazed at his skill at nine-men-morris. He seemed to be able to plot multiple moves in advance as well as predict his opponents' moves.

The end of the game saw Bakura as the winner. Anub coughed up a gold anklet studded with gems the color of the sea. Osik, Mekh, and Anub all produced coins. She had a feeling Bakura could probably make a fortune every night simply by playing nine-men-morris, he was that good at it. Of course, he would have to find new people to play against but it was entire possible that he could.

Lily turned to find Bakura grinning at her, a devious twinkle in his eye. _'Isis, do I even want to know what he's thinking?' _she wondered as he picked up the anklet and slowly dragged the cold object down her leg. Goosebumps rose on her flesh at the sensation. He slipped the anklet over her foot and then dragged his bare hand up her leg, running it under her skirt as he did so, and she gasped quietly.

Bakura must have heard her quick intake of breath, because he gently squeezed her thigh. She wanted to turn and glare at him, but the feeling that spread from where his hand touched her had moved throughout her entire body, distracting her. It was certainly a pleasant feeling, and it took her a moment to force her brain to work again.

The thief continued to rub her thigh gently as he chatted with his friends. "Hold still," he whispered in her ear when she started wiggling."

"Then stop placing your hands all over me!" she hissed back. _'Isis, doesn't he know what he's doing?' _she wanted to know. He had to know, because his eyes certainly revealed that he did, and he was proud of himself.

Bakura laughed, the sound deep and rich, and her annoyance instantly evaporated as his laugh filled her with warmth. "Alright, little one." His dark eyes were lit with amusement, his smirk infectious. "We'll get going."

"She must be very eager," Anub commented, grinning. "You're a very lucky guy."

"Of course," Bakura replied, slowing gliding his hand across her stomach.

Lily fought the urge to frown at him. Ra, he was arrogant. Yami had his moments, but then he was the Pharaoh. Bakura, for all he was a commoner, definitely outclassed Yami in arrogance. And if he didn't stop toying with her, by Isis she was going to hurt him!

"Think I might be able to convince you to share her?" Osik wanted to know, looking at her wistfully.

"Not a chance." His tone was firm, so no one else asked, thankfully.

Osik sighed. "We'll see you later then." The others said their farewells, Gaib staring at her so intently she became uncomfortable. She almost breathed a sigh of relief when Bakura released her. Getting up, she grabbed her cloak, wanting more than anything to cover up and hide her body from everyone. She wanted them all to stop staring at her.

The white-haired thief stopped her from putting on her cloak, actually taking it out of her hands and laying it over his arm. Yep, she was definitely going to kill him now. She was plotting his death as he led her outside and down a few streets into an alley. She had even started to wonder if sacrificing him to Bast's temple cats would be any fun.

"Well, Princess," he began, pulling her flush against his body, causing her to blush. "I'm surprised you wore such a dress." He nuzzled her neck, his lips brushing her ear, and she froze in surprise. He was being gentle, and his actions were starting to make her knees feel weak. "I do have to say that I approve. It made you look like you belonged with me in that tavern." The arrogance in his voice pissed her off, and she struggled against him, for all it did no good. He was far too strong.

She looked up at him, frowning. "I don't give a damn. Everyone stared, and you need to learn to keep your hands to yourself!" she snapped at him. Her anger kept his deep, dark brown eyes from affecting her too much, and it helped her resist the feel of his body. Although, she had to admit his bare chest felt wonderful against her own.

"Oh? And here I thought you were enjoying yourself." His tone was teasing, and he gently nibbled on her neck.

Lily wasn't about to admit he was right. "I'm afraid you were mistaken." She kept her voice as stiff as cold as possible. She was not going to let anyone walk all over her so easily.

Bakura laughed at her. "I'm never mistaken, princess, although I almost thought I was wrong about you, for a moment. I never thought to see you in such an outfit, and it made me wonder if you really were the princess for a little stretch of time," he replied, tone so arrogant her jaw dropped a little bit. "You act like a princess and a normal female in turns. It's highly amusing."

"I hate to tell you this, but I'm not here for your amusement. I'm here so you can teach me how to survive out here on my own. You remember, the lessons you promised me?" She stared at him, her expression schooled to perfect arrogance.

"Very well then. He's a new lesson." Suddenly he was kissing her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck so she wouldn't collapse on the ground. She had kissed him, and while it had felt good, it had felt nothing like what she was experiencing now. Warmth spread throughout her entire body, and wherever he was touching her tingled. He massaged her lips with his own, nibbled and licked at her bottom lip, and then somehow his tongue found its way into her mouth.

Lily completely melted against him, clinging to him with what little strength she had left. She wasn't sure if she would be able to walk after he was finished kissing her, and she wasn't she cared if she could or not. Isis, she didn't care what Bakura had said, she didn't care how arrogant he was. If he kept on kissing her, she would die happy.

Bakura finally moved his lips from her mouth to her ear. "That was your lesson. Your last kiss was horrible," he whispered in her ear.

For all that she should have been angry with him, she couldn't bring herself to be. She was too busy feeling incredibly good and trying to catch her breath.

He noticed her condition, because he smirked at her. "It seems that you learned that lesson quickly and enjoyed it too. In two nights perhaps we'll continue on with this lesson."

That caught her attention. "Why not tonight or tomorrow?" she asked, her voice sounding breathy even in her own ears. She wasn't sure if she wanted to wait that long. _'I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not, but I want him to kiss me again.' _

"Because I have things I need to do tomorrow night," Bakura replied, and for all that his tone should have sounded rough, impatient, and rude, it was calm and somewhat soothing. He sounded relaxed, to a certain extent. "And I wish to sleep some tonight, so I'm ending the lessons early."

'_I am not leaving here without at least one more kiss.' _She was feeling reckless, but she didn't care. It wasn't like he was going to hurt her, at least not over a kiss. "As you wish," she replied before standing on her tiptoes, grabbing him behind the neck, and pulling him down for a kiss. Somehow she had remembered everything he had done to her and used it on him, and it felt just as good. She licked, nibbled, and even sucked on his lips, using her tongue to tease him.

The thief resisted for all of a moment before he gave into her. The thrill of triumph coursed through her as did the now familiar warmth and tingling. Her hands left his neck to run down his chest and across his shoulders, finding his skin smooth but firm. When his muscles flexed her hands, she began to gently rub them. His hands were all over her, and she didn't mind in the least, even when he grabbed her butt and attempted to pull her closer, for all it was completely impossible.

A cat ran between their legs, yowling and startling them both apart. Lily blinked and then frowned. Cats were sacred to Bast, so perhaps the goddess was trying to tell her to stop for the night.

"Perhaps I had better be going now. My bother will be furious if he finds me gone." Reluctantly she smiled a soft farewell at the thief. "I will see you night after next."

"If a cat doesn't kill you by then." Bakura seemed grumpy now, although she wasn't sure why. She was still feeling far too good to worry, so she let him be and walked off to the palace.

She slipped over the wall and back inside without a problem. Hollic was waiting for her, and she did receive a small scolding for being out so late, but she didn't mind. She was feeling far too happy to let anything bother her, and after hugging her friend, she changed and went to bed, still smiling.

**_End Dream Time_**

Lily woke up feeling warm and comfortable. Ryou had covered her with a blanket while she had slept, which caused her to smile as she sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She saw Ryou in a nearby chair, calmly playing with his deck.

"How long was I asleep?" she asked him, voice soft.

He looked up from his cards, and she lost herself for a moment in his dark brown eyes. "Only for three hours. It's late in the evening," he replied, smiling at her. She looked unbelievably cute when she was disheveled from sleep and wearing his shirt. He wished he could see her like that more often. "Are you hungry."

Lily nodded her head. "I'm starving, actually," she admitted with a small blush. It was understandable. She hadn't eaten anything since lunch, and that had been hours and hours ago.

"I made dinner a little while ago, so I'll reheat some for you." Ryou set his deck down and went into the kitchen, leaving her alone for the moment.

While the white-haired boy was in there, Lily took a look at his deck. She was somewhat surprised to find it full of dark cards and trap cards. It was incredibly well built though, and she figured the deck reflected Bakura more than Ryou. Ryou was all light and joy, and Bakura was darkness, traps, and secrets.

_Of course, Bakura can also kiss like a god,_ Tigrililian stated suddenly.

'_No arguments here,' _Lily replied as she set the deck aside. There was definitely no way she was going to argue with that point.

Ryou brought her a plate of food and chopsticks, easily noticing that she had taken a look at his deck. He didn't comment at the moment though; merely handed her the food and utensils and sat back down in the chair.

"Thank you," she told him, accepting the food gratefully. "It looks delicious." She began to eat slowly and politely, humming her pleasure. The food was excellent. Somehow she was going to have to find a way to eat dinner with him more often.

The young man smiled, feeling proud that she was enjoying his cooking so much. "So what did you think of my deck?"

"I can tell you spent a lot of time on it; it's very well constructed," she answered, appearing thoughtful for a moment. "You would have a slight problem against an anti-trap deck, or a deck that's based almost solely on defense, but those are few and far between. It would be interesting to see how I would do against you, but I left my deck back at my apartment."

"We can play another time," he offered, smiling at her when she yawned. She really was adorable. "Do you feel up to going back to your apartment tonight? Or would you rather stay here?"

Lily thought about that for a moment. "I should be able to make it back to my apartment without a problem, although thank you for the offer to stay here." She finished off her food and then went into the kitchen to wash her dishes. "However, I would appreciate it if you could walk me home, just in case."

Ryou followed her into the kitchen. "Of course I'll walk you home," he replied. _'She was just kidnapped, so I'd rather not let her out of my sight,' _he thought as he watched her move about his kitchen, perfectly at home. "Would you also like me to meet you tomorrow at your apartment?"

"That would be sweet of you, but it's not needed. I shouldn't have a problem arriving at the Yugi's game shop safely," she answered, drying the dishes. "But it's fine with me if it'll make you feel better."

He had to admit, she was taking her kidnapping rather well. He was surprised she wasn't shaking or crying. _'I'm not sure if I would be reassured if she did start crying or anything,' _he thought. "It would make me feel better, so I'll pick you up about noon."

She turned and smiled at him brilliantly. _'I do feel better knowing that I'm not going to be alone while I'm outside.'_ She mentally sighed in relief. "Sounds perfect." She went to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I'll be ready." She paused. "Now, perhaps I should change. Would you please tell me where my clothes are?" She blushed slightly.

Ryou chuckled at her and then retrieved her clothes. Once she had changed, he walked her home, keeping an eye on everyone and all the vehicles as he did so. She was not going to be kidnapped again.

He didn't relax until she was inside her apartment with the door locked. Then, feeling much better, he went back to his place, whistling the entire way.


	22. Chapter 22

Stolen Hearts Across Time

Chapter Twenty-Two

_**Ryou's Dream Time**_

Ryou cursed vividly as he slashed at the guard with his knife. The guard dodged and stuck back, wielding his spear expertly. For all that the guard had already been injured, cuts on his arms and chest, he was still going strong. _'It would be my luck to run into the one guard who doesn't give up easily,' _he mentally grumbled. He was bruised from being hit with the pole part of the spear, but he had yet to acquire any cuts, since he was excellent at dodging.

Suddenly, pain erupted in his face, and in reaction Ryou threw his knife, watching the blade sink into the guard's thigh. The guard fell to one knee, and Ryou took the chance to run, cursing his bad luck. He was really, really having a bad night. By Ra, he hoped he ran into no other guards for a while, because until his face healed and he regained the use his eye. _'The guard actually hit my face… I think there's at least three cuts: one going down and two going across. The gods curse all guards.'_

Ryou knew that he should have known better. The pile of coins sitting near the window had been far too easy and obvious. Of course, the thought of a trap hadn't even crossed his mind. He had merely thought that the merchant was an idiot. _'Stupid! Stupid!' _he berated himself. _'You know better. Guards love traps, and look where not thinking got you? You may have the coins, but you can't see out of one eye!' _

He shot down an alley, knowing that the guard was no longer following him. He could hear no one following him, and he thanked the gods for small favors. Sometime close to dawn he would have to find a healer, otherwise he would likely use the use of his eye, and he didn't want to risk it. Until then, he would have to make do as best as he could.

Somehow, through sheer dumb luck and not paying full attention to where he was heading, he ended up at the meeting place with the princess. Unfortunately, the annoying female was already there. He cursed loudly and thoroughly, but he figured it would be a bad idea to run away from her. He was no coward, and his injury would likely shock her enough to send her running home in tears.

"Bakura, what happened to you?" Lilian lurched to her feet as Ryou stumbled. By Ra, he hurt so bad that it was affecting his ability to move, and he was starting to lose a little too much blood.

"Nothing. I'm fine. It'll heal soon enough," he grumbled at her. "I'm surprised you haven't fainted from the sight of blood yet, princess." _'I'm also surprised she hasn't screamed in fear or anything.' _ He was slightly impressed, but he wasn't about to admit that to her.

She scowled at him. "Shut up and come here. Let me see that wound so I can fix it, unless you want it to become infected," she snapped.

He glared at her. "You never know when to keep quiet." He wasn't quite sure what to think about her, although he was certain she was insane. _'She can't possibly know how to take care of a wound. She's a princess.' _

"Of course not. I never have. Now, sit down." She firmly grasped his arm and forced him to the ground, which wasn't easy. He fought her the entire time. He didn't want to her to do something to make his situation worse. "Stay still, dammit!"

Ryou kept his one good eye on her, watching her carefully. He wasn't sure if he fully trusted her, but he figured that she at the very least didn't mean him any harm. _'I suppose I can listen to her, but if she makes my wound worse, she can pay for the healer,' _he mentally grumbled.

Delicately chewing on her bottom lip, Lilian tore off a piece of her robe and tried to clean away some of the blood. He was somewhat surprised that she was willing to both rip her clothing as well as try and clean him up. He was even more surprised when a single tear leaked out of the corner of one of her eyes as she worked. It seemed that she did care about him enough to worry about him.

Suddenly, her hands began to glow, and she dropped the bloody cloth in her shock.

"What was that?" Ryou snapped irritably, his voice betraying the pain he felt. "What was the glowing? If you're trying something stupid, I suggest you stop right now." _'I will admit, I felt a little better when the glowing was going on. This is not normal, and I don't know if I like this new glowing.' _

"Shush," she hissed, and he mentally frowned in reaction. She didn't have the right to order him around at all. "Be quiet and let me concentrate."

"You…" Ryou felt his cheek, brushing off dried blood. _'My wound is gone. There's only a scare left,' _he thought in amazement. Never in his life had he seen anything like that. He stared at her in surprise. "What did you do?"

"I healed you." Lilian grumbled softly, moving around as if she couldn't become comfortable. "Now, don't get all mushy on me. My head hurts, and I don't think I could take it." Finally, she rested her forehead against his shoulder, and he remained still for her. She had healed him. She sighed in relief.

Ryou glared at her, not about to let her think he was getting soft on her. "What are you doing?" he asked, not making any moves to get her off him. _'Lilian really isn't all that bad, and she has proved herself to be rather useful. I think I'll keep her around. At the very least, she'll amuse me, and odds are she'll continue to be helpful.' _

"My head hurts, and this makes me feel better. I healed you, so you owe me," she spat out at him. "Get over it. I'm not moving and neither are you until I don't feel like someone's pounding me on the head with a boulder."

"You are acting like a child," he retorted. He had to admit she was. Her head couldn't possibly hurt that bad, not when all she did was sit still and heal him. Unless the healing made her hurt, and that was a possibility.

"Well, you trying dealing with this headache I've got," she snapped back, obviously not happy. He remained still for her, relaxing a little. He had to admit it was nice, and she smelled better than any of the women he had slept with. He had a slight urge to pull her closer to him, but he resisted. First of all, he didn't want to cause her any pain after she had healed him, and she was the princess. He did not need to get too close to the princess, although he supposed that friendship was a possibility.

Finally, she sat up straight, and as soon as she did that, Ryou ended the silence. "Are you up to your lessons tonight?" he asked, and he let his tone relax. He didn't see a reason to be gruff or mean to her; she had proved herself to be an ally.

"Yes, I think so," she answered, standing up. "So now, how about we go win some money at Nine Men's Morris?"

"Someone is eager to play my pet again," he commented wickedly, enjoying her enthusiasm. _'She loves that game more than any other female I know. In fact, this life seems to suit her rather well, for all her bossiness,' _he thought. _'Perhaps she doesn't belong up in that palace with the rotten Pharaoh.' _ It was an interesting thought that he mulled over for a few moments, and at the end he came to the conclusion that she did deserve to be free of the Pharaoh and the palace, and she didn't deserve his grumpiness.

She playful slapped his arm, and the action made the corner of his mouth twitch in a hidden smile. By Ra, she was amusing. "Nope. I just want to see everyone's faces as they lose to us. Playing your pet is just an unfortunate cost I have to pay."

"You'd better be careful, or I just might think you don't want me to teach you any more," he told her, keeping a straight face, although he knew that his amusement would show in his eyes. He didn't mind. _'I will have to treat her a little better now. She deserves it.' _

Lily looked at him in surprise, her teal eyes meeting his brown ones. "You're teasing me," she said softly in amazement. "You're actually teasing me." She smiled at him, and he had to fight the urge to smile back.

"Do you have a problem with that, princess, or should swing you over one shoulder and carry you to the tavern, just to see what everyone will say?" Ryou replied in the same tone. Actually, the idea was rather appealing, although he would have to stop by his place first so he could change.

She crossed her arms, glaring at him. "You will not carry me like a sack of grain. I am not some cheap whore for you to cart around like that."

He laughed, highly amused, causing her to smile at him again. Lilian had the most unique way with words, and he was beginning to enjoy that very much.

"No, you're not a whore," Ryou agreed. "You're a noblewoman who's nearly impossible for a man to deal with. I'd love to see someone try and seduce you." He impulsively nuzzled her neck, causing her to jump in surprise. He chuckled, feeling rather light spirited. "Come on then. Let's go to the tavern. My purse is feeling a little too light tonight."

"I think your purse is always feeling a little too li—" She gasped in surprise as Ryou picked her up and slung her over his shoulder, smiling now that she couldn't see it. "What do you think you're doing?" she demanded to know.

"Carrying you," he replied, his tone light and playful. Ra, he was enjoying being teasing and playful with her. It had been ages since he had done so with a female. Usually he only joked around with his close male friends.

"This is undignified!" Lilian protested, banging her fists against his back. It really was pathetic, as he could barely feel any of her hits, but it was interesting that she was trying.

"Yes, but it with prove to the men at the tavern that you are my pet, and not some loose woman." He patted the back of her thigh close to her butt, knowing that she would likely throw a fit over it. He was surprised that she didn't, and that caused his subconscious to start thinking. _'Perhaps she actually is attracted to me. Interesting.' _ "Don't worry. I won't drop you, unless of course you decide to wiggle around too much, and then you'll force me to drop you onto the hard ground. I'd rather not do that, since it would make sitting on my lap a bit uncomfortable for you."

She sighed, obviously giving up. "You are impossible," she muttered.

"Yes, but so are you," Ryou replied nonchalantly and began whistling as he walked down the back streets toward his place. It wasn't too far away from where they were, and it was close to the tavern as well. It didn't take him long to reach it, and set Lilian down outside the door.

"Where are we?" she asked when he set her down, tone one of surprise.

Ryou scowled at her, wondering slightly why she hadn't guessed. Of course, judging by how he normally acted around her, she had a reason to surprise. A night ago he wouldn't have even considered bringing her to his home. "I'm here to change clothes," he replied. "We're going to the tavern once I change." His clothing had blood on it, so he wasn't about to go to the tavern in what he was wearing. He liked to look at least decent and clean.

"Alright." Lilian followed him into the building and then into a small room. The room contained a bed, table, and chest, all in pretty good condition. The bed had clean but plain blankets, the chest was solid, and the table held a basin, a cloth, and a pitcher of water. For a commoner, he had a rather nice place to live and good belongings. Of course, his tomb robbing and thieving helped immensely in keeping his money purse full.

Ryou stripped off his shirt and then poured water from the pitcher into the basin. He then began to wash off the blood, taking care to get everything off. During this process, he noticed the princess watching him, eyes wide. _'She's surprised? She must have only seen weakling men before this.' _ He smirked, his ego inflating a little. _'That, or she's never seen anyone quite as handsome as me.' _

He finished cleaning off all the blood from his face and chest and turned to fully face her, moving so that he was scant inches away from her. He wanted to give her a nice, full view, and he was curious as to she would react. All of the other women he knew would take the opportunity to touch and kiss him, practically throwing themselves at him. He was somewhat hoping that Lilian wouldn't; he wanted her to be different from all the others.

"Wha-what is it, Bakura?" she asked quietly, her eyes never leaving his chest. She wasn't throwing herself at him, but she was definitely appreciating how he looked.

"You're staring," he replied, grinning wickedly. He had to admit, he liked knowing that she appreciated his body.

Lilian blushed, obviously embarrassed. Ra, her face was so red he almost laughed. "Just put on a shirt so we can get going!" she snapped impatiently.

Ryou chuckled and then moved away from her, opening the chest and pulling out some clothes. Just because of her amusing comment, he was definitely not going to wear a shirt. Instead, he was put on a thin, white open robe and a red over coat. The colors went well with his tan skin and blue kilt, and he knew it. He had been complimented on this outfit before, and the fact that Lilian continued to stare pleased him.

He smirked at her, and she seemed so stunned that it took her a little while to say anything.

Lilian turned away from him and went for the door, and it was obvious to him that she was trying to avoid looking at him now. "Let's go," she said, finally finding her voice, although it was a tiny bit squeaky. "The night won't last forever."

"Then follow me, unless you would like to get lost," he taunted, taking pleasure in how much she found him attractive. He knew that other women found him attractive, since he did have an exotic look to him, but knowing that the princess enjoyed his appearance just seemed to mean more to him.

She glared at him, obviously not too thrilled with him. "Fine," she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. "Lead the way."

Ryou continued to grin as he brushed past her to head outside and lead the way to the tavern. He figured he would have to give her a little time to calm down, since he had riled her up quite a bit. It was only fair that he give her a few moments to recollect her thoughts.

By the time they reached the tavern, stopping outside it for just a few moments, it was obvious to him that the princess had calmed down. Lilian gave a small squeak when Ryou grabbed her around the waist and pulled her close to him. She looked up at him, and for a moment she looked like she was getting ready to yell at him, but he smiled at her, and she calmed down. He filed that information away for later.

"So, my pet, are you ready to help me win some money?" Ryou asked, pleased with himself.

"Of course," she replied, tone soft and sweet. He smiled a tiny bit wider at her.

"Good." He steered her inside, and he let her let her go a few feet away from his normal table. She obviously needed a little time to adjust to her surroundings. The princess was obviously used to quieter places.

Ryou sat down at a table with his friends just a few feet away from where Lilian stood, discreetly keeping an eye on her. He wasn't about to let anything happen to her.

A black-haired serving girl bumped her hip against Lilian's hip. He watched closely as the two females exchanged words, and he would have interrupted, but the princess seemed better while talking to the serving girl, and they were both smiling.

He watched her walk toward his table and remove her robe. He could merely stare as she hung her robe on a chair. She was wearing a nearly transparent dress, a ribbon wrapping around the back and coming back around to the front to tie. If he looked hard enough, he could see the outline of her body and especially her legs. Ra, she had nice legs. _'Is she the princess? She definitely doesn't like the prim and proper person she did at the beginning,' _he wondered, but then he mentally shook his head. He was being silly. _'She's the princess. She admitted it, and I know that she looks like the princess. I'm not mistaken, although this dress is a very nice change from her other outfits.' _

"Nice dress," Mekh commenting, his tone not one that Ryou liked. He immediately fought a fleeting urge to throttle his friend. Well, he knew that he was possessive, although he did try to keep it at a reasonable level. Basically, he never let his possessiveness of a female persuade him to hurt one of his friends.

Ryou felt better when Lilian sat down in his lap, wigging for a moment. She was obviously not used to quite so much attention.

"Well, well, well," he whispered in her ear. "You surprised me, although it was a very pleasant surprise. You should dress like this more often." Looking at the men as Lilian blushed, he grinned. He had meant what he had said. She had a body he could appreciate it, and he would enjoy her continuing to wear near transparent clothing. "Shall we begin?"

The men began to place bets, all of them inebriated in varying degrees. The more alcohol the man had consumed, the more money he placed on the game, as a general rule. It was easier to win against drunk men, for all that they were his friends. It wasn't his fault they liked to drink a little too much. Anub placed the largest bet, and Ryou knew that his friends were all a little distracted by the female sitting in his lap. In all honesty, he was somewhat distracted by the princess as well.

Finally, the game started, with Ryou going first and placing a white piece on the board. Anub and Gaib quickly ganged up on him, which was probably why they had both placed such large bets. They had privately agreed before hand to help each other out, not that it would do them any good. He could easily beat them both. He could give it as good as he got, and as the game continued, Ryou took to rubbing her arm with his thumb almost absent-mindedly. It seemed to help him think, and her skin was soft, so he enjoyed himself.

Lilian smiled and turned just enough to kiss him on the cheek. "Want to play like we did last time?" she asked him softly, letting her lips brush his ear gently, and he felt a small shiver go through him. She was tempting him, that was for sure; however, the question was if she knew what she was doing. He was going to bet that she didn't, but that didn't mean he couldn't tempt her back.

Ryou snaked his left arm around her waist and placed his right hand over hers. "Of course," he replied, letting his voice pitch drop a little. "And you try to distract them."

Lilian began gently chewing on her lower lip, obviously thinking. He wondered if she didn't know how to distract the others, although he knew it wouldn't be hard. Knowing the princess, she would fidget, and that would be enough to draw everyone's attention to her.

She played with the long ribbon that wrapped around her torso right under her breasts, and even he couldn't resist a quick look at her chest. It was a very nice chest, but he forced his attention back to the game. He definitely did not want to lose simply because he found Lilian distracting, especially since his friends thought that he was bedding her.

Ryou, using her hand to move the pieces, kept on winning. Gaib was the first one to lose, which he didn't seem to mind. He seemed to be entranced by Ryou's pretend pet.

"Well, there went that money." Gaib grinned unabashedly, and Lilian giggled. "Perhaps Bakura will buy more dresses like that for you. I know we all would appreciate it." He winked at her. Ryou again fought the urge to throttle one of his friends. Ra, he really was becoming possessive over Lilian.

She blushed even as she frowned, and Ryou admired her spunk. "Bakura will decide what I wear, not you. And he may not want you all looking at me all the time; Bakura doesn't like to share." Her tone was stiff and arrogant, and Ryou almost laughed. She was probably the one female he would never need to be possessive over. She tolerated almost no flirting by anyone. It was somewhat surprising she tolerated his flirting.

Gaib merely laughed as the game continued. Ryou slightly tightened his grip on her waist, knowing that it was a possessive gesture. He just couldn't seem to help himself, but he felt better when Lilian relaxed into his hold. He continued to guide her hand in placing the pieces, keeping his mind mostly on the game.

The end of the game saw Ryou as the winner, not that he had ever doubted that he would win. Anub coughed up a gold anklet studded with gems the color of the sea. Osik, Mekh, and Anub all produced coins, which he figured could go toward a few new shirts for him. That, or maybe he would buy some new over robes. He liked how Lilian stared at his chest.

Lilian turned to look at him, and he grinned at her, a devious twinkle in his eye.

Ryou picked up the anklet and slowly dragged the cold object down her leg, knowing that the sensation would definitely cause a reaction in her. He was rewarded with goosebumps he could barely make out. He slipped the anklet over her foot and then dragged his bare hand up her leg, running it under her skirt as he did so, and she gasped quietly. All her skin seemed to be soft, and he enjoyed the feel of it. He gently squeezed her thigh and continued to rub her thigh gently as he chatted with his friends.

"Hold still," he whispered in her ear when she started wiggling." He wanted her, although he had a feeling that wasn't what she wanted. And besides, she was the princess. He could be friends with her, but he wasn't about to bed the girl that was going to wed the Pharaoh.

"Then stop placing your hands all over me!" Lilian hissed back.

Ryou laughed, amused at her again. "Alright, little one." His dark eyes were lit with amusement, his smirk infectious. "We'll get going." He saw nothing wrong with giving into her. He did want to kiss her, and he wasn't about to kiss her for the first time in front of people. She'd likely get all huffy and throw some kind of fit, which would give away the fact that he really wasn't bedding her. No pet threw a fit when kissed.

"She must be very eager," Anub commented, grinning. "You're a very lucky guy."

"Of course," Ryou replied, slowing gliding his hand across her stomach.

"Think I might be able to convince you to share her?" Osik wanted to know, looking at her wistfully.

"Not a chance." His tone was firm, and his eyes must have looked dangerous, because no one else asked.

Osik sighed. "We'll see you later then." The others said their farewells, Gaib staring at her so intently that Ryou almost told him to look elsewhere.

Ryou released Lilian. Getting up, she grabbed her cloak, but he didn't want her putting it back on. Not yet. For all that everyone was staring at her, he didn't want to give up his view either.

He stopped her from putting on her cloak, actually taking it out of her hands and laying it over his arm. Then, he guided her outside and down a few alleys, finally stopping in one.

"Well, Princess," he began, pulling her flush against his body, causing her to blush. "I'm surprised you wore such a dress." He nuzzled her neck, his lips brushing her ear, and she froze. He was working hard at being gentle; he didn't want to startle her too much. He was going to enjoy himself a little bit. She had made him want her, and while he wouldn't bed her, kissing was fair game. "I do have to say that I approve. It made you look like you belonged with me in that tavern." That statement obviously aggravated her, because she began to struggle, but he kept a firm grip on her.

Lilian looked up at him, frowning. "I don't give a damn. Everyone stared, and you need to learn to keep your hands to yourself!" she snapped at him.

"Oh? And here I thought you were enjoying yourself." His tone was teasing, and he gently nibbled on her neck. He knew that she would enjoy it, although he guessed that she would fight it as much as possible.

"I'm afraid you were mistaken." She kept her voice as stiff as cold as possible, but he didn't worry. She was putting on a front, for all that it didn't work with him. He knew better.

Ryou laughed at her. _'She is definitely a precious person. I'll have to be very gentle with her at first.' _"I'm never mistaken, princess, although I almost thought I was wrong about you, for a moment. I never thought to see you in such an outfit, and it made me wonder if you really were the princess for a little stretch of time," he replied, and her jaw dropped a little bit. "You act like a princess and a normal female in turns. It's highly amusing."

"I hate to tell you this, but I'm not here for your amusement. I'm here so you can teach me how to survive out here on my own. You remember, the lessons you promised me?" She stared at him, her expression schooled to perfect arrogance.

"Very well then. He's a new lesson." He began kissing her, finally giving into his urge. He was somewhat surprised when she wrapped her arms around his neck; he had thought she would fight back at least a little, but she gave in easily, obviously enjoying herself. He massaged her lips with his own, nibbled and licked at her bottom lip, and then worked his tongue into her mouth. _'She does taste good,' _he thought absently as he continued to enjoy himself.

Lilian completely melted against him, clinging to him, and he tightened his grip on her ever-so slightly.

Ryou finally moved his lips from her mouth to her ear. "That was your lesson. Your last kiss was horrible," he whispered in her ear, knowing that the statement would anger her. Interestingly, she merely tried to catch her breath, not looking angry at all. He smirked at her, pleasantly surprised that she had been so affected by the kissing. "It seems that you learned that lesson quickly and enjoyed it too. In two nights perhaps we'll continue on with this lesson."

That caught her attention. "Why not tonight or tomorrow?" she asked, her voice sounding breathy.

'_My, she is impatient,' _he thought, amused. "Because I have things I need to do tomorrow night," Ryou replied,voice calm and somewhat soothing. He felt relaxed for all that he wanted to keep on kissing her. He had to remind himself that she was the princess and he was not going to bed her. Kissing her further would merely be torture for himself. "And I wish to sleep some tonight, so I'm ending the lessons early."

"As you wish," she replied before standing on her tiptoes, grabbing him behind the neck, and pulling him down for a kiss. Somehow she had remembered everything he had done to her and used it on him, and it felt just as good. She licked, nibbled, and even sucked on his lips, using her tongue to tease him.

Ryou for all of a moment before he gave into her. She had learned how to kiss quickly, using everything he had done to her against him. Her hands left his neck to run down his chest and across his shoulders. When he flexed his muscles under her hands, she began to gently rub them. His hands were all over her, and she didn't mind in the least, even when he grabbed her butt and attempted to pull her closer, for all it was completely impossible.

For a little while Ryou forgot about everything else. He lost himself in the kissing, enjoying himself more than he had in a very long time. _'Perhaps taking her to bed wouldn't be such a bad idea,' _he thought, despite his earlier determination not to do anything serious with the Pharaoh's bethrolled.

A cat ran between their legs, yowling and startling them both apart. Ryou stared at where the cat had disappeared into the darkness, feeling frustrated and a little pissed.

"Perhaps I had better be going now. My bother will be furious if he finds me gone." Reluctantly she smiled a soft farewell at the thief. "I will see you night after next."

"If a cat doesn't kill you by then." Ryou was grumpy now, and he was glad when Lilian didn't needle him. She merely left him alone, heading off toward the palace.

'_She's a smart girl,' _he thought suddenly, and he realized how right he was. She would fight with him at times, and he did enjoy that to a certain extent, but she hadn't said anything to him when it really would have angered him. Very smart girl. Every other female he knew didn't know when to fight with him and when not to.

Still feeling frustrated, he ran a hand through his hair and headed back to his place. He knew that he could easily find a bedmate, but he didn't want to deal with a stupid female at the moment. It just wasn't worth the hassle, so he went back to his place and went to bed, taking forever to fall asleep.

**_End Dream Time_**

Ryou sat up in bed and ran his fingers through his sleep-tousled hair. He wasn't quite sure what to think about his dreams, but he was guessing they were his spirit's memories. If he was right, then things could become complicated between himself and Lily. The tomb robber had at least gotten along with the princess at one point and even desired her. The real question was, on what terms had they parted on? If Lilian or Bakura had left the other, then the old bitterness would eventually spring up, and he didn't want that. He didn't want to lose Lily because of something that had happened so long ago in the past.

_Lily is going no where,_ Bakura snapped. _Your dreams are just that—dreams. Ignore them._ He was not going to admit that the dreams were real. To do so would be to admit that he had been soft toward the princess at one time, and he was not soft. He'd had millennia to cultivate his bitterness and hate, and he knew that he was not a kind, soft, or gentle person, at least not now. So he was not going to admit he'd been any different in the past.

Still, he was having problems ignoring his own memories, as they kept clamoring for attention. The ones of his time with the princess were the most persistent. By the gods, what in the world was he supposed to do?

For the first time in his entire life, Ryou fought back in pure anger. _'You're lying,' _he stated simply, not caring if he angered his spirit. _'It's bad enough that you hate everyone without reason, but denying the truth of your own memories, especially of Lilian, is just plain wrong.' _

Bakura stood there in stunned silence. He couldn't remember his hikari lecturing him before, nor could he recall any time the young man had been so angry. It was quite astonishing. The one time Ryou had actually went against when he was singing the Ninety-Nine Bottles of Beer on the Wall was nothing compared to his anger now.

'_Lie to the rest of the world if you want, but don't lie to me, and don't lie to Lilian or Lily. If I know the truth, then odds are so does she. You cared about the princess at one time, and it's as obvious as the nose on my face,' _Ryou continued, frowning deeply. Kami, he was not going to let the conversation drop until his spirit saw that lying was not going to do him any good.

The tomb robber growled. _You don't know when to shut up, do you? And I told you that you're simply imaging things!_

'_If that's true, then why are you getting so overworked? If it's truly nothing, then why do you care so much?' _the young British man retorted.

Bakura gaped for a second, and then tried to form a rebuttal, only to find that he could think of none. Ra, to be brought low by his hikari was rather humiliating. However, it wasn't like he could prove the boy wrong, because Ryou was right. Besides, a part of him wanted to admit that he cared about the princess. _If you ever tell anyone, I will destroy you._

'_What about Lily?' _Ryou asked, survival instincts gone for the moment. He was not going to give up, not yet.

_What about her?_ the spirit snapped back.

'_There should be nothing wrong with telling her or Lilian anything. It's not like they don't know the truth,' _Ryou replied.

The thief quietly sighed. It was a very sad day when he had to give into his aibou. _Fine, but only if they ask._

'_And you're not going to lie to them either,' _the young man persisted.

Bakura frowned. Ra, the boy was persistent, and rather annoying. _Fine!_ he snapped, if only to get his hikari to leave him alone. He was tired of arguing, and he wanted to leave the subject alone.

Ryou thought for a moment. _'Okay. I'll leave you alone now.' _He got up out of bed, staying true to his word as he went about his morning routine.

The tomb robber thanked the gods and retreated into his soul room, deciding to avoid his hikari for a while. He did not want to have another argument like that for a long time.


	23. Chapter 23

Stolen Hearts Across Time

Chapter Twenty-Three

In a dark room, Sei, a gang member, watched in horror as the Shadow muttered cursed and paced about. He shook in fear as the Shadow looked down at him, for all that he couldn't see the Shadow's features. No one was allowed to see the Shadow. No one had even heard the Shadow's voice, at least no one alive had. The gangs would wake up in the morning to a list of instructions or a to-do list. The Shadow didn't like gangs, but he used them when he needed. He had seen the white-haired male rescue the female and all the horrifying, impossible things he had done to his friends, and he had hid. Sei had not wanted to die at the white-haired boy's hands, but it seemed that his attempts had been in vain. The Shadow would without a doubt kill him now.

"Forgive me, but I knew one more person would make no difference to the boy. He would have killed a hundred men to get the girl back," Sei said softly, begging for the Shadow to spare him. "I felt I would serve you better by reporting this back to you."

The Shadow pulled out a golden knife with a giant eye on it, and Sei shivered. There was something very wrong with that knife.

"Please, don't kill me!" Sei groveled at the Shadow's feet, his forehead touching the ground a few scant inches from the black robe. A soft hand lifted his head, and the Shadow knelt down.

Sei was able to catch a brief glance of the Shadow's face before the knife slit his throat. He died with a look of shock plastered on his face.

The Shadow kept the knife by the wound, the golden blade absorbing the blood. The millennium knife worked better if it had regular sacrifices. Its power increased in proportion to how much blood it spilled and absorbed.

Once the pathetic gangster had bleed dry, the Shadow threw him out of the room. The people waiting at the door knew what to do with the body. All her past victims had been buried where they would never be found.

"Soon, Lily, your blood will coat my blade, and after that, I will kill your precious boyfriend," she hissed out, staring at the millennium knife. "Then, my revenge will be complete. In the afterlife, you will suffer as I suffered in my last life, and no little boy or stupid gangster is going to stop me."

* * *

Lily grabbed the phone and plopped down in a chair. She had slept most of the morning through, and it was close to noon. She needed to call Seto and talk to him, to ask him about the Shadow. If anyone could find out about the person who wanted her dead, he would. _'Of course, I can't mention that to him. He'll go all over-protective and send me home, or at least keep me locked up in his apartment. He won't let me see the light of day again until this Shadow person is dead.' _ She sighed. _'Really, I shouldn't have this many enemies.' _

_Well, they could be your father's enemies,_ the princess interjected. _But whoever this Shadow person is, he's serious about killing us. I wonder if the Shadow has both the items, the new one and your father's eye?_

'_I think it's possible and maybe even likely.' _She quickly dialed the phone, letting it ring for a little while. She began to frown when Seto didn't answer immediately. Was he hurt? Had the Shadow gotten to him? _'No. I won't think like that. He must be busy, that's all.' _

_Of course. Besides, if the Shadow had wanted to attack Seto, I'm sure he would have done it by now,_ Tigrililian assured her aibou, holding the girl's spirit close to her own.

Right before Lily moved to hand up the phone, someone finally answered. "Hello, it's Lily," she said immediately, hoping and praying that Seto had answered the phone.

"Hi Lily!" the voice at the other end replied. It was Mokuba, and while she loved him dearly, he wasn't the one she wanted to talk to at the moment.

"Mokuba, is Seto there? I need to talk to him about something important," Lily asked, feeling a little better since someone had answered the phone.

"No. He's working late and he said that he didn't want to be disturbed," Mokuba replied. "He told me not to wait up for him, but I can let him know that you called."

'_Of course he's busy working,' _she thought. _'He has a business to run and so many things to check up on. My problem can wait.' _"Don't worry about it. It can wait until our lunch date tomorrow," she told the young boy. "Just tell him that I called and that I love both of you."

Mokuba huffed. "Seto isn't the only one who can help. You can talk to me too, you know."

Lily fought back a giggle, not wanting to hurt his feelings. "Thank you. You are the sweetest thing in the world, but don't worry about it. I just wanted Seto to look into a something for me, that's all." She paused. "Although if you want to help me, you can tell me where you two are taking me to lunch."

"Nope. It's a surprise," he insisted, and she could hear the smile in his voice.

She sighed dramatically, drawing the sound out as long as she could. "Oh well. You can't say that I didn't try."

Mokuba laughed. "Just remember to dress really pretty."

"Oh, so we're going someplace nice." Lily grinned. Mokuba would never ruin a surprise, but he was good for a hint or two. "I'll have to remember that. I even think I have just the outfit."

"Good. Then maybe my brother will finally ask you to marry him."

She sputtered and babbled in her shock. _'No… Seto would never even consider it. He only thinks of me as a sister.'_

"Gotcha!" Mokuba burst out into giggles.

"Dear Kami, you almost gave me a heart attack. Don't say things like that to me." Lily placed a hand over her speeding heart. _'I think I would die of embarrassment if he ever asked me such a question.' _

_It's a good thing Seto never will. I would hate to lose my aibou so soon after meeting her,_ Tigrililian teased.

"Your reaction was so funny. I'll have to tell Seto," he said, tone bright and cheery.

"You do just that. Now, I'm going to let you go so I can recover from my near heart attack. You be a good boy, and I'll see you soon enough," Lily told him.

"Okay. Bye bye!" Mokuba replied, still laughing softly.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Bye." She hung up the phone, shaking her head. _'That boy…' _

_He was most entertaining, but are you sure you want to wait so long before you talk to Seto? I really think this Shadow person is the one with the millennium items,_ Lilian protested. _The sooner we find information on him, the better off we'll be. We know he wants you dead, and he'd using gangs to assist him._

'_We'll just have to be extra careful, and I'll make sure to stay close to Ryou when we go outside,' _Lily replied. _'I really hope Dad doesn't get any hints about what has happened to us. He'll drag us home for sure. It was hard enough last night keeping quiet on everything that has occurred. I can't fall back on the excuse that we have to search Domino City block-by-block on foot forever.'_

_I'm sure by then we'll have another excuse already lined up,_ the princess stated, sounding sure of herself.

'_This from the girl who constantly used the excuse "I was out in the garden" when no one could find you,' _the curly-haired girl retorted.

Their conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door. "I'm coming!" Lily called out, practically bouncing across the room to the door. She just knew it had to be Ryou. Every day with she spent with him, she just couldn't help becoming more and more attached to him and his sweet, caring personality.

She threw the door wide open and gestured for the white-haired boy to enter. He smiled at her, brown eyes watching as she moved about the room. "I take it you're not quite ready?" he asked, amused. It was easy to find her adorable as she rushed about, grabbing her keys and flipping off the lights.

"I will be in a moment," Lily replied, sliding into her favorite pair of flip-flops. "I woke up later than I expected, so I'm running a smidge behind." She double-checked all the windows, making sure they were locked.

"You needed the rest," Ryou replied. "And I don't mind waiting while you finish getting ready, so you can take your time."

She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek as she darted past him to grab a pocketknife on the counter. "You are such a sweetheart."

He suddenly had the fight the urge to grab her and kiss her. Where it came from, he wasn't quite sure, but it was real and rather difficult to suppress. "Thank you," he replied, knowing he was blushing. Kami, what was he going to do if he ever did go and kiss her? How would she react?

_She'd probably kiss you back and teach you how to give a real kiss,_ Yami Bakura stated wickedly, obviously enjoying his aibou's discomfort. _Just imagine the humiliation… a girl teaching a boy how to kiss._

Ryou's blush darkened. _'We really have more important things to worry about.' _ He really didn't want his spirit teasing him about his attraction to Lily.

_Like what?_ Bakura asked, tone lazy.

'_Like the best way to keep her safe from kidnappers and other dangers as we search,' _the younger boy replied, relieved to be able to lead the conversation away from such an embarrassing topic.

The spirit frowned. _Good point. Perhaps we should convince her to stay here and let us to all the searching._ The last thing he wanted was for something bad to happen to Lily again. He would protect her, but even he had his limits. That fact had been shoved in his face when the gangsters had kidnapped her.

'_There is no way she would go for that. I don't even have to ask to know that.' _ Ryou sighed. _'Hopefully Yugi will be able to come with us, and perhaps even Joey and Tristan.' _ A part of him was reluctant to share Lily, but her safety was much more important to him.

_I don't think so. It's not like any of them will be able to do any good,_ Bakura snapped back. He didn't want the Pharaoh or any of the idiots anywhere near his Lily.

Their discussion ended when Lily grabbed his hand and led him out of the apartment. She quickly locked the door and then turned and smiled at him. "Thank you for being so patient with me."

"It wasn't a problem," Ryou replied honestly, returning the smile, especially as she still had a hold of his hand.

"Still, thank you." Lily enjoyed how sweet and thoughtful Ryou always was. It was so incredibly nice to be able to turn to him and know that he would always say something kind or do whatever she needed. _'More men need to be like Ryou,' _she thought as they began to walk to the game shop, hand in hand.

* * *

Seto looked over a proposal for a new gaming system for Duel Monsters. The last VR sets he had used had caused a few problems and were large and bulky. His scientists had come up with a smaller, lighter design that they could market to the masses. Only the rich masses would be able to afford it at first, at least until they came up with a cheaper way to create the VR set. That would take a little while, and until then, he would be able to milk quite a bit of profit out of the expensive VR sets.

He shot off emails to the heads of his science department, giving the go-ahead on the project. The new product would likely become their new best seller, and he quickly calculated just how much profit he could possibly expect. He'd set some of his people onto the project to give him more exact figures, and he'd have to talk to his advertising department to set up the campaign, but that could wait for the moment.

Pulling up files on his computer, Seto started looking more into who could have stolen the millennium eye. He had no doubt that Lily was putting herself into all sorts of situations that she didn't need to be in, and he didn't trust Ryou Bakura to protect her. Despite everything he had found out about the boy, he still didn't trust the white-haired male. Something inside of him just balked at the idea of Lily having anything to do with Bakura.

He thought about calling Yugi and asking him about the boy that spent so much time with his little sister, but he didn't doubt for a second that Yugi would only have good things to say about his friend. He needed more information, but he wasn't sure how to get it. Everything he kept digging up was good. Minus the whole trouble at some of his past schools, but that was likely purely coincidental. At least, logically it was purely coincidental. He doubted that Bakura could send people into comas; it just didn't seem possible. A part of him did think it had been Bakura's doing, but he would never be able to prove it.

Seto mentally cursed, fighting back the desire to throw something across the room in frustration. He needed a reason to keep Lily away from Bakura, and mere speculation would never work. She would merely laugh it off or ignore it. What bothered him more than anything was that she seemed so attached to the boy, and that rubbed him the wrong way. His brotherly instincts were to rip her away from him and keep them separated for the rest of their natural lives; however, that would upset and hurt her, and he didn't want to do that.

He didn't have any new information on the millennium eye or who could have taken it. So far everyone he had looked into had come up clean. So many of Pegasus's enemies would not have even realized that he had the eye. Most of them wouldn't even have the first idea of how to remove the millennium eye from Pegasus. In that laid the hardest part to factor in. He could establish opportunity but not ability of everyone he had looked into so far.

No one had tried to sell it or was trying to get rid of it. That he was sure of. He knew how to contact the lowest dregs of society as well as finesse information out of the highest members of the upper crust. All of his agents were keeping their ears to the ground for any information about an eye, golden or otherwise. So far they hadn't found a thing.

In frustration he unbuttoned his suit jacket, hurriedly took it off, and tossed it onto a nearby chair. Kami, he had never experienced anything so hard to figure out, except for Yugi. _'It shouldn't be so hard to find one little item in this city,' _he thought, mentally scowling. _'Any of Pegasus's enemies would have either gloated about the item, tried to sell it back to him, or would have sold it. And that's only if they knew it existed and could actually take it away from him. It likely isn't an enemy then. Perhaps someone is trying to collect all the items and is going about it circumspectively.' _

He took the millennium necklace out of his briefcase and held it in his hands, frowning at it. _'If that's so, then it's likely the thief already has one item, and he or she could have snuck onto the island and stole it. That does limit the search some, but it expands it as well.'_ He rubbed the necklace absently, still thinking. _'I don't know who has the items or what all the powers are for each item. Lily doesn't either. I know that Yugi has the puzzle, and that Marik had the rod. I have the necklace, and Lily has the bracelet. Bakura has the ring, but I don't think that any of those items would have helped them sneak on the island and take the eye. Yugi certainly didn't do it, and I doubt that Marik has it. If he had it, he would have put it in his own eye socket. Neither Lily nor I have it.' _

Seto placed the necklace on his desk and laced his fingers together. _'Perhaps Bakura has it? My sources haven't found any evidence that he made it to the final round at Duelist Kingdom. It's possible he never even entered the mansion; however, it's also possible that he took the eye.' _

Recalling Lily's face when she had talked about Bakura, he cursed. She had looked so happy, so giddy whenever she mentioned the white-haired boy. _'Dammit. I can't tell her anything until I have proof. Doing otherwise would simply hurt her needlessly, but I have no idea how to get the proof. The only witness to the crime can't remember a damn thing.'_

Sighing, Seto put the necklace away and went back to work. He would place Lily's problem on the back burner and wait and see if he thought of anything. Until then, he had other work to attend to as well. _'Hopefully when I see Lily tomorrow she will have more information for me.' _

* * *

Yugi was talking to Joey and Tristan when Lily and Bakura walked into the game shop, hand in hand, fingers intertwined. They were talking and laughing, and Lily's smile was so bright that it could have lit up a room. Bakura's smile was shyer than hers, as if he wasn't quite sure how he had gotten so lucky.

_They're falling in love,_ Yami commented, worry in his voice.

'_It's only been a week, I believe,' _Yugi replied, mentally frowning. He absently toyed with the millennium puzzle hanging around his neck. _'I think it's a little early for that, don't you?' _

_I didn't say that they were in love,_ the Pharaoh corrected. _They're in the process of falling in love. You can see it in their eyes._

"Hey you two!" Tristan greeted them, looking rather comfortable in his jeans and brown t-shirt. His hair was gelled, as usual, and stood straight up.

"Why can't a girl just once fall for me?" Joey wailed in the background, looking at Bakura's and Lily's interlinked hands. He leaned back against the wall and looked about ready to cry. His distressed jeans fit him rather nicely, and his baggy green shirt looked well worn. His blond hair was in its normal disarray, and his eyes were currently comically distraught.

Lily turned her attention to the other people in the room, smiling. "Hello, everyone. I'm surprised to see you all."

"After yesterday we thought it would be a good idea to bring more friends," Yugi stated. "The people will likely try to kidnap you again, and a second rescue attempt might not go as well." His purple eyes revealed the worry he felt on her behalf. Lily looked like an easy target. She was small, petite, and female. For all her spunk, she had an air of childishness that many people could and would interpret as a weakness. He had a feeling that if she had tried to search for the eye on her own, she would be either kidnapped, hospitalized, or dead.

Ryou didn't really like the idea of Yugi, Joey, and Tristan searching with them. He just didn't feel like sharing Lily with them, but he wanted to keep her as safe as possible. To do that, they needed more people to wander around with them. "More help is always welcome," he told the others, trying to put a smile on his face. Despite it being the logical choice, he still didn't want to include the others in the search party. It seemed that Bakura's possessiveness was leaking over into him, much to his discomfort.

Lily looked at both the blond and the brunette. "You two look familiar. Where have I seen you guys?" she pondered out loud.

Both Joey and Tristan blushed. "We both kind of knocked you over on our rush to the mall," Joey explained after a moment.

"Oh! Now I remember. I saw you both on my first day here in Domino," she said, and then she paused, giving them both a contemplative look. "I must admit, you were in a rather big hurry, even considering the fact there was a model at the mall."

The two boys started talking at once, sputtering and exclaiming apologizing. Lily couldn't make out much of what they were saying, but she found it incredibly amusing. She had never imagined anyone getting so worked up over something so small.

She contained her laugh and squeezed Ryou's hand. "Do you think I should forgive them?" she asked him, eyes sparkling and warm.

Ryou felt his cheeks start to heat up. "It might be a good idea, as they are going to search with us," he answered, returning the hand squeeze without thinking about it.

Lily finally gave in and laughed as Joey and Tristan continued to talk rapidly. "Relax, you two. I harbor no bad feelings. In all honesty, I had pretty much forgotten the incident already."

Her words caused the blond and brunette to relax. "Thanks," Tristan said, sounding grateful.

"No problem." She smiled at him, and Ryou felt a quick stab of jealousy that he immediately pushed away. It wasn't hard to do, considering that she was still holding his hand.

"We should probably get going. There are only so many hours in the day," Yugi said, purple eyes unreadable.

Joey nodded in agreement. "Of course." He turned around and shouted loud enough to hurt Lily's ears. "Gramps, we're heading out now!" Yugi's grandfather responded with something, but Lily didn't hear as she was rubbing her ears.

"I suppose I'll lead the way," Ryou offered, heading out the door with Lily right behind him. The others trailed behind, talking and joking.

Lily grinned. _'This promises to be fun.' _


End file.
